Carolina Hurricanes re-sign forward Jesper Fast to two-year contract

The Carolina Hurricanes are set to bring back forward Jesper Fast on a two-year deal worth approximately $2.4 million per season, TSN’s Chris Johnston reported Friday.

Fast, 31, collected 10 goals and 29 points in 80 games with the Hurricanes during the 2022–23 regular season and added six goals and nine points in 15 playoff contests.

The Hurricanes originally signed Fast to a three-year deal as an unrestricted free agent in 2020. The six-foot-one Swede earned $2 million per year on his previous contract with the Hurricanes.

The New York Rangers originally selected Fast in the sixth round (No. 157 overall) of the 2010 NHL Draft. Fast made his NHL debut with the team in the 2013–14 season and appeared in three games during the Rangers’ run to the 2014 Stanley Cup Final.

Fast emerged as a full-time NHLer with the Rangers in 2014–15 and reached the 30-point plateau for the first time in his career the following year. He’s since hit or surpassed that mark on two other occasions, including when he set new career highs in goals (14), points (34), and games played (82) with the Hurricanes in 2021–22.

Through 630 games over parts of 10 NHL seasons with the Rangers on Hurricanes, Fast has collected 85 goals and 229 points. He’s added 14 goals and 27 goals in 80 playoff games.

The Hurricanes finished the 2022–23 season atop the Metropolitan Division and in second in the Eastern Conference with a 52–21–9 record and 113 points in 82 games. They made it to the Eastern Conference Final before being swept by the upstart Florida Panthers.

With Fast having been retained, Carolina’s remaining pending UFA group includes Paul Stastny, Derek Stepan, Max Pacioretty, Calvin de Haan, Shayne Gostisbehere, Frederik Andersen, and Antti Raanta. Their main pending RFAs are Jesse Puljujarvi and Dylan Coghlan.