Carolina Hurricanes sign Ryan Dzingel

The Carolina Hurricanes have bolstered their strength with a veteran NHL veteran signed up front Ryan Dzingel on a one-year contract in both directions for the 2022/23 season, announced the team. The deal will net Dzingel $750,000 at the NHL level and $150,000 at the minors, with a $200,000 guarantee. This will be the veteran’s second stint with the Hurricanes, spending portions of the 2019-20 and 2020-21 seasons in Carolina. Hurricanes GM Don Waddell had to say at the signing:

“We obviously know Ryan from his early days in Carolina. He’s an experienced player who can bring an offensive boost to our forward group and we’re delighted to have him back in the organisation.”

When Dzingel is on the field he can absolutely provide an offensive boost, one that not only offers depth but genuine secondary goals as well, having scored as many as 26 goals in a season as a member of the Ottawa Senators and Columbus Blue Jackets. However, since moving from Ottawa, Dzingel has not been able to repeat his success and has not scored more than eight goals in a season since then. The forward was eventually traded back to Ottawa in February 2021 and signed with the Arizona Coyotes last summer. To add to their scoring depth, the Toronto Maple Leafs acquired Dzingel that season but lost him to the San Jose Sharks due to waivers, where Dzingel would finish that season.

With the signing, Carolina says it has a low-risk but certainly high-reward option that allows them to rotate between the NHL and AHL and move up and down the lineup when he plays. The Hurricanes have recently been rumored to be looking at more plays and have even been linked to them Nino Niederreiter, which came out after portions of four seasons with the Hurricanes. While Dzingel doesn’t offer the same offensive caliber as Niederreiter, he could pose a similar threat if he can return to the player he was for Ottawa from 2016-19. In any case, Dzingel’s two-way deal is far more cost-controlled than the two-year, $4 million AAV contract Niederreiter signed with the Nashville Predators.