The Carolina Hurricanes continued their free agent search by adding defenseman Matt Tennyson on a two-way contract.
Tennyson, 26, split last season between the NHL’s San Jose Sharks and their AHL affiliate, the San Jose Barracuda. He recorded four points (1g, 3a) in a career-high 29 NHL games with the Sharks and went scoreless in five regular-season games and one playoff game with the Barracuda.
“Matt gives us added depth on the blueline, as a right-shot defenseman who has proven he can play at the NHL level,” Hurricanes General Manager Ron Francis said in an official release.
An undrafted native of Pleasanton, California, Tennyson (6’2”, 205 lbs.) has totaled 65 points (17g, 48a) and 107 penalty minutes in 169 career AHL games with Worcester and San Jose.
With Michal Jordan (free agent) and James Wisniewski (buyout) departing from the Hurricanes this week, Tennyson should compete with the likes of Ryan Murphy and a host of other Hurricanes prospects for a spot on the NHL blue line. His two-way contract makes it feasible that he could play games in the AHL, something he has done in each of his five professional seasons since leaving Western Michigan University in 2012.
