- Carolina re-signed Viktor Neuchev to a one-year, two-way contract Friday
- The 22-year-old scored Chicago’s overtime winner in Game 4 of the Calder Cup Final
- Read below for the terms and how Neuchev landed in the Hurricanes system
Viktor Neuchev is sticking around in Carolina, a month after the biggest goal of his career.
The Hurricanes re-signed the 22-year-old winger to a one-year, two-way contract on Friday, per PuckPedia. He will earn $850,000 in the NHL and $90,000 in the minors.
Chicago trailed Toronto 3-0 in the Calder Cup Final and fell behind by two goals in Game 4 before Domenick Fensore and Justin Robidas pulled the Wolves even in the third period.
Then came the rebound. Neuchev banged it home 3:18 into overtime to silence Coca-Cola Coliseum and stop the sweep.
Watch him spin toward the glass in the No. 79 jersey:
Toronto ended the argument the next night and lifted the Calder Cup in five.
His regular season was quieter, with 10 goals and 25 points in 64 games split between the Rochester Americans and the Wolves.
Buffalo drafted him 74th overall in 2022 and traded him to Carolina in January for depth defenseman Gavin Bayreuther.
A Chelyabinsk native, Neuchev has 75 points in 160 career AHL games. He spent two seasons in the KHL with Automobilist Yekaterinburg before coming over.
He still has not played an NHL game, and $850,000 on a two-way deal is not a promise that he will. Carolina checked the same box with Aleksi Heimosalmi earlier this month.
Carolina won its second Stanley Cup in June, which makes the bottom of that forward group a hard room to break into. Another season in Chicago is the likeliest route back toward Raleigh.
