Carolina Hurricanes' GM Eric Tulsky cites need to be creative in 'complicated' offseason

RALEIGH, N.C. — Eric Tulsky held his first news conference Wednesday as the Carolina Hurricanes’ general manager and handled it in a professional, if professorial way.

“It’s an incredible organization and I’m honored to be trusted to lead it,” he said.

Tulsky’s predecessors as general manager were Jim Rutherford, Ron Francis and Don Waddell, and Rutherford and Waddell could be garrulous with the media. Tulsky is more like Francis, understated, more tight-lipped and predisposed to keeping things close to the vest.

The former chemist might not be as circumspect as he would with a pending patent, but it could be close as he fills what he calls an “executive leadership position.”

Tulsky, who had the “interim” tag removed Tuesday by team owner Tom Dundon, did not want to discuss any specifics about the players soon to be unrestricted free agents or potentially set to sign contract extensions.

“It’s a complicated off-season. I think we all know that,” Tulsky said. “There are a lot of free agents and we’re going to have to work to be creative in solutions to keep the team moving forward.”

Being creative is what Dundon is counting on from Tulsky. There are ways of working around the NHL salary cap, and Tulsky and his staff will do all it can to make it all fit together in the end, although it could mean some lineup fixtures no longer being around.

Defenseman Brett Pesce and Brady Skjei, for example. They’re both due to become UFA’s on July 1, when NHL free agency begins. So, too, forwards Jake Guentzel, Teuvo Teravainen, Jordan Martinook and Stefan Noesen.

“It’s only two weeks away but two weeks is an eternity,” Tulsky said. “Right now, it’s really hard to forecast how it’s going to go.”

Defenseman Jaccob Slavin will be in the final year of his contract in the 2024-25 season. Elliotte Friedman of SportsNet, in his “32 Thoughts” podcast, speculated Slavin could be headed for an eight-year extension that would pay $6.5 million a season, which would be a bargain for the team.

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