Hurricanes sign 'cornerstone' Slavin to 7-year extension

The Carolina Hurricanes have secured a significant piece of their young core for the long haul.

Jaccob Slavin agreed to a seven-year contract extension with an average annual value of $5.3 million Wednesday.

Slavin's new deal will begin in 2018-19 and run through 2024-25. He'll carry a cap hit of $742,500 in the final season of his entry-level deal beginning this fall, according to CapFriendly.

The 23-year-old defenseman led the Hurricanes in time on ice, notched 34 points, and played all 82 games in 2016-17, his second NHL season.

"Jaccob is one of the cornerstones of our team moving forward, and it was important to secure him with our organization long term," Carolina general manager Ron Francis said in a statement.

The Hurricanes made Slavin a fourth-round pick in 2012.