The Carolina Hurricanes have signed two key defensemen: Shayne Gostisbehere to a three-year contract with an average annual value of $3.2 million, and Sean Walker to a five-year contract with a $3.6 million AAV.

The Hurricanes also signed William Carrier to a six-year contract with a $2 million AAV and extended Jaccob Slavin to an eight-year contract with a $6.46 million AAV.

The Hurricanes receive: A pair of defensemen to replace the departed Brett Pesce (New Jersey) and Brady Skjei (Nashville). Gostisbehere is the more fantasy-relevant defensemen of the pair, having completed his third 50+ point season in 2023-24. Walker will provide a more defensive conscience to the Canes, but he just finished with a career-high 29 points split between Philadelphia and Colorado.

The Canes could even pair the two new defensemen together at even strength, as Gostisbehere is a left shot and Walker is a right shot. That might also work out well because Ghost is a puck-mover while Walker is more stay-at-home.

We'll focus mainly on Gostisbehere here, since there are more fantasy implications to his signing. He also provides more offense than Skjei and Pesce, and it's possible that he could bump the aging Brent Burns (now 39) off the top power play. This is Ghost's second stint with the Canes, as he played 23 games for them after being traded there from Arizona in 2022-23. That season, he scored 10 points in 23 games while Burns still received the majority of the power-play minutes.

Gostisbehere's signing should all but close the door on a Tony DeAngelo return, as the two play a similar style of game. Gostisbehere simply doesn't have the level of baggage that DeAngelo has. The Hurricanes had a slightly better power play that the Red Wings, but the Canes just lost Jake Guentzel and Teuvo Teravainen and could trade Martin Necas. So the power plays could be a wash.

Gostisbehere could benefit from the Canes' up-tempo, puck possession style over a full season. Although his overall fantasy value could improve in the trade, a 56-point season might be difficult to repeat if he is relegated to the third pair because he is being sheltered defensively. That has happened at times during his career, although he has been a more reliable option in recent years in the situations he has been in.

Players this helps, in order:

Gostisbehere

Players this hurts, in order:

Burns

Discuss this signing on this thread in the Forum.