Oilers top defensive target Alex Carrier signs six year contract with Hurricanes

Carrier is a 27 year old right shot defenceman who last played with the Nashville Predators, and was a trade deadline target for the Edmonton Oilers. It was believed the Oilers could make a push for him in free agency, only if they were able to offload Cody Ceci. Carrier was a former defence partner of Mattias Ekholm, and the pair had incredible success in their time together.

Carrier specializes as a defensive defenceman, and had impressive underlying numbers. In 73 games last season, Carrier scored 4 goals and 20 points. He's always had a plus rating in his NHL career, and notably was a +26 in his season paired with Ekholm.

It was reported that Carrier was nearly finalizing a contract extension with the Nashville Predators, but that deal must've fell through. If the Oilers had enough time to offload Cody Ceci, they likely would've pursued Carrier, especially at just $2M. Unfortunately, they weren't able to land him.

For the Carolina Hurricanes to retain him at only $2M, Carrier's contract looks already to be a great value deal for the team. They gave him plenty of security with a six year term, but keeping his AAV at just $2M with the cap increasing is a fantastic move by the Hurricanes.

After the Oilers incredible additions at forward on day one of free agency, the team really just needs one quality upgrade on defence to make this roster as complete as it could possibly be. Jeff Jackson and the Oilers aren't done yet, so we'll see in the coming days what other moves he has to improve the Oilers defence.

Source: Chris Johnston