Hurricanes sign Riley Stillman to one-year, two-way contract

Some organizational depth on the back end for one of the top teams in the Metropolitan Division.

On Wednesday, the Carolina Hurricanes announced they have signed defenseman Riley Stillman to a one-year, two-way contract. The deal will carry a $775,000 cap hit through the 2024-25 season. Stillman’s salary in the minor leagues will be $150,000, with $350,000 guaranteed.

The AAV is the lowest of Stillman’s career. The former Hamilton Bulldog just finished a three-year contract with an annual cap hit of $1.35 million.

“Riley is a reliable, highly competitive defenseman who can kill penalties,” general manager Eric Tulsky said in a release. “He has considerable experience at both the NHL and AHL levels, and he’s still a young player. This signing will help improve our organizational depth on defense.”

Stillman has bounced around the league over the past five seasons. After being taken by the Florida Panthers in the fourth round of the 2016 NHL Draft, he spent two seasons with the organization before he was sent to the Chicago Blackhawks in April 2021, which saw the Panthers receive Lucas Wallmark and Lucas Carlsson.

After one season in Chicago, Stillman was dealt to the Vancouver Canucks, though he was sent to the Buffalo Sabres just a few months later.

Though he has been on the move, the most NHL games the Peterborough, Ontario native played in one season was 52 with the Blackhawks in 2021-22, where Stillman scored two goals and 12 points, both career highs. He last appeared in the NHL with the Sabres during the 2022-23 season, spending all of last year with their American Hockey League affiliate, the Rochester Americans.

In 158 career games, the 26-year-old has scored four goals and 22 assists, also appearing in three games with the Panthers during the qualifying round of the 2020 postseason.

In 136 AHL games, he has notched nine goals and 23 assists, amassing 125 penalty minutes.

Prior to making it into the pro ranks, Stillman won hardware in the junior ranks, taking home the OHL Championship with Hamilton in 2018.

With the signing, the Hurricanes have 38 standard player contracts on the books for the 2024-25 campaign. According to CapFriendly, Carolina has over $14.6 million in projected cap space.