The Carolina Hurricanes have signed RFA forward Jack Drury to a two-year, $1.725 million AAV deal before the negotiations went to arbitration later this month.
The deal will pay Drury $1,775,000 in the first year and $1,675,000 in the second year meaning he'll have a qualifying offer of $1,675,000 at the end of the contract.
Also at the contract's expiry, Drury will have one year left as an RFA and again with arbitration rights.
“Jack took tremendous steps last season to solidify himself as a key part of our forward group,” said Hurricanes general manager Eric Tulsky in a press release. “He is an extremely hard worker at both ends of the ice who can be relied upon at all situations, and we are excited to watch his continued growth in Carolina.”
Drury took a big step up this season in his first full season in the NHL.
In 74 games, Drury had eight goals and 27 points while playing a very dependable two-way game.
The 24-year-old center also had a 55.3% faceoff percentage this season, which was second on the team behind just captain Jordan Staal (58.1%).
While he only averaged 12:17 per game as primarily the 4C, Drury did get some extended runs at 2C and even played at times on both the power play and penalty kill.
The Harvard graduate also showed a lot of heart having fought multiple times this year when standing up for teammates.
The Hurricanes will be leaning on Drury to continue to take steps in his development heading into next season.