The Carolina Hurricanes have re-signed defenseman Ethan Bear to a one-year contact, the team announced yesterday. Bear’s contract is worth $2.2 million.
Bearsy!
The #Canes have re-signed Ethan Bear to a one-year deal 🖋️
The defenseman was acquired from the Edmonton Oilers last offseason, in exchange for forward Warren Foegele. Bear is 25 years old and this past season, he scored five goals and 14 points in 58 games with the Hurricanes. He had previously filed for arbitration and will remain a restricted free agent when the deal expires.
Bear didn’t have a great first season with Carolina. He had an opportunity to potentially take a top-four role with the team early in the year but struggled a bit and ended up out of the lineup frequently. While I maintain that Bear being the odd-man out was more about the likes of Tony DeAngelo and Brendan Smith playing above expectations, it was still a disappointing year for him.
That said, he’s still a young defender with quite a bit of potential and could certainly still take a step with the Hurricanes next season. The team made the right call bringing him back on a one-year deal.