Eric Tulsky on 2024 Free Agency The Carolina Hurricanes were a busy team as the 2024 Free Agency period opened up at noon on July 1. The Canes brought in quite a few players but also lost some major pieces as well. Following the bulk of the deals, Hurricanes general manager Eric Tulsky spoke to the media. Here's what he had to say: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- On the players that the team signed: We have, in no particular order, signed Will Carrier. He's a very effective forechecking forward who's going to step in to our style of play seamlessly. I think he's going to fit very well with the way we play. Speaking of effective forechecking forwards who fit with the way we play, we have extended Jordan Martinook. We have filled out our forward group with some signings for Eric Robinson and Tyson Jost who, again, I think all four of those players were prioritizations of players who really fit. We're looking for players who can come in and play in Rod [Brind'Amour]'s up-tempo system, forecheck, make plays off the cycle and can really make sure that we play the defensively responsible, two-way high pressure game that the Hurricanes have come to be known for under Rod. On the backend, we brought in Sean Walker who is again a defenseman who has the mobility to play the way we play. We ask a lot of our defensemen with the pressure that we apply, skating up and down the ice and covering all over the zone and we feel he can do that very effectively. There's one more signing that is not quite complete yet, but there is one more piece of news coming there. On how the team improved today: There's definitely more work to be done. Today is not the only day of the offseason. So there's plenty of time between now and training camp to adjust the roster. We plan to keep exploring all of our options. We have some ideas in mind that we are still actively pursuing. Look, finding ways to get better is important. I think we have worked hard over the last 12 years to build this franchise up in a very careful, sustainable way dating all the way back to when Jim [Rutherford] drafted Jaccob Slavin and traded for Jordan Staal. We've built what we think is a sustainable path to success by avoiding the temptation to take shortcuts, the urge to splurge on July 1 is always very high and it's often regretted. There are a lot of teams right now trying to figure out how they can get out of contracts very similar to the ones being signed today. So we do want to keep getting better, we need to do that, but we just need to do it in a sustainable way and as I said, today's not the only day of the offseason. On if it's been a stressful time: Look, I don't get stressed easily. It's a funny thing about me. There's clearly a lot of pressure on the organization and today is an important day. It has been an extraordinarily busy period. I won't say it's been relaxing by any means, but it's part of the job. I would not say I feel an enormous amount of pressure, I would say I feel an enormous responsibility and honor that the team has entrusted me to be the one helping lead this decision making process. On what happened with Jake Guentzel: Jake's a great player. It was a great fit. We really wanted to keep him. We tried very hard. In the end, it didn't work. He wanted to play somewhere else and that's his right. As much as I wanted to force him to sign, I couldn't do it. So in the end, we got him sent to where he wanted to play and we traded his rights so that they could get their deal done. On losing pieces of the core: It is tough to see players leave. These are players who have been important for us on the ice, who we care about deeply off the ice. And I hate saying goodbye to people who have been a big part of our organization. At the same time, if they have other situations that are better for them, I'm happy for them. I think every single player who left, we made offers to and tried to get deals done, and if there are other situations that were better for them, that's great and I'm happy for them. It's our job to figure out how to react to that and how to keep taking steps forward. On if he feels there's tampering with how many free agents supposedly had deals already figured out before free agency opened up: Of course we can't talk to other team's free agents ahead of time. Teams and agents are doing what they can to gauge the market and figure out what the right fits are. That's part of the job and something that you have to do to keep up in this game. On Jaccob Slavin: He's just a fantastic person and a fantastic player. It was such a huge thing for our organization that we've been able to have him here and that we will continue to have him here for at least nine more years. I can't say enough good things about him on and off the ice. He's just a fantastic person. On what the biggest change has been for him now as the general manager: How often my phone rings. It used to be about 10 times a day and nine of them would be from the owner and now it's about 60 times a day and only 10 or 11 of them were from the owner. So that's been a big change. On Jesper Fast's injury status: He's still working through his medical situation. I don't have an update on him at this time. On where the Martin Necas situation currently stands: We're working with his agent. We're trying to make sure that the situation works. Unrestricted free agents are obviously the priority leading up to and on July 1 and then we'll pivot to really focusing on our RFAs and trying to get deals done with them. On staying patient and not overreacting during free agency: This is obviously a tricky thing, especially in this particular year when we had as many free agents as we had. It's not an easy day to navigate. Ultimately, this isn't supposed to be an easy job so like I said, today isn't the only day of the offseason. We're continuing to look at other ways to work our way through this, but we do need to find ways to keep getting better without hampering or handcuffing ourselves for the long term. On if he feels there are internal answers to filling some of the team's gaps offensively: So Darren Yorke, our assistant GM, leads the draft and the development group and both of those groups have built us an absolutely fantastic pipeline of talent. Part of what we're doing at this point is making sure those guys have an opportunity to step into bigger roles. We have some young players in the NHL who are ready to grow and we have some players who are just a little bit away from the NHL who are ready to step into NHL roles. So seeing them continue to take steps forward is a big part of how we keep this going and leaving them the opportunity to do that is part of the job here. Ultimately, it's a balancing act. We aren't in a rebuild. We aren't turning things completely over to the kids, but we do need to leave room for them to keep growing and keep assuming newer and bigger roles. Recent Articles
