Hurricanes sign Joel Nystrom to four-year contract

The Carolina Hurricanes announced on Friday that they have signed rookie defenseman Joel Nystrom to a four-year contract extension that will carry an average annual value of $1.225 million.

“Joel stepped into our lineup early in the season and has proven that he belongs in the NHL,” general manager Eric Tulsky said via the team’s press release. “He fits our style of play well and we are excited to watch his continued development in Carolina.”

Nystrom was pressed into action early this season when the Hurricanes suffered a rash of injuries to their regular defensemen throughout October. Jaccob Slavin, K’Andre Miller, Shayne Gostisbehere and Jalen Chatfield have all missed considerable time, leaving Sean Walker and Alexander Nikishin as the only regulars to be available for every game so far.

The young Swede took the opportunity and ran with it, as he’s established himself as a contributor on the roster even as all of those injured players have returned, with the exception of Slavin.

Primarily paired with his fellow rookie Nikishin on the bottom pairing, Nystrom has four points (all assists) in his 23 career regular season games while skating to a plus-2 rating on an average of 16:02 of time on ice per night.

With Nystrom on the ice at 5-on-5, the Hurricanes have controlled 60.65% of the shot attempts, 59.02% of the expected goals, 59.69% of the high-danger scoring chances and 56.52% of the goals.

After a shootout win over the Washington Capitals on Thursday night, Carolina moved back into first place in the Metropolitan Division with a record of 19-9-2. Both they and the Capitals became the third and fourth teams in the NHL to reach the 40-point mark, joining Colorado and Dallas.

The Hurricanes are in action both days this weekend as they prepare for a home-and-home with the Philadelphia Flyers. The teams will meet in Philadelphia on Saturday and back in Raleigh on Sunday.