- The Hurricanes signed captain Jordan Staal to a one-year extension covering the 2027-28 season
- It carries a $4.9 million cap hit and can reach $10 million with performance bonuses
- Read below for the full contract breakdown and what Eric Tulsky said about his captain
Carolina is paying Jordan Staal like a Conn Smythe winner, which is exactly what he is.
The Hurricanes signed their 38-year-old captain to a one-year extension on Tuesday that covers the 2027-28 season. It pays a $900,000 base salary and a $4 million signing bonus, with another $5.1 million sitting there in performance bonuses. Add it up and the ceiling is $10 million.
Guaranteed money puts him at a $4.9 million cap hit. Everything above that he has to go earn.
Staal turned 38 on Sept. 10, and his age is the reason the deal can be built this way. Players 35 and older signing one-year contracts are one of the few groups allowed to load up on performance bonuses.
He earned the raise in June. Staal scored six goals and added an assist in a six-game Stanley Cup Final win over Vegas, and he became the first player since 1956 to score in each of the first five games of a Final.
That run made him the oldest Conn Smythe winner in league history at 37, passing Tim Thomas in 2011 and Glenn Hall in 1968, who were both 36.
Take a look at the league’s rundown of his playoff run:
His regular season was no throwaway either. Staal put up 36 points (20 goals, 16 assists) in 75 games and reached 20 goals for the first time since 2015-16.
Hurricanes general manager Eric Tulsky was asked about the extension in the team’s release, and he went straight to what Staal means in the room.
“Jordan is not only our captain, he’s the bedrock of the culture we’ve established in this organization. His leadership and on-ice performance throughout last season and especially in the playoffs was a primary factor in bringing the Stanley Cup back to Raleigh.”
There is still a year to go on his current contract, a $2.9 million cap hit that runs through 2026-27. The new money does not start until the fall of 2027, when he will be 39.
Fourteen seasons in Carolina have put Staal second in franchise history with 972 games played. He has worn the C since 2019, taking over from Justin Williams and following his older brother Eric, who had it from 2009 to 2016.
Raleigh gets to keep its captain through the summer of 2028, with the Canes already favored to repeat.
