Hurricanes Sign Nathan Gerbe

Left wing Nathan Gerbe agreed to terms on a one-year, two-way contract with Carolina on Friday – a move that should add depth to Charlotte in one way or another.

Gerbe, who at 5-foot-5 and 178 pounds was the shortest player in the NHL over the last three seasons with the Buffalo Sabres, recorded 10 points (5g, 5a) in 42 games during the most recent campaign. He has not played in the AHL since the 2009-10 season, but produced at close to a point-per-game pace (94 points – 41 goals and 53 assists – in 101 games) over two seasons with Portland.

The Sabres’ fifth-round draft choice (142nd overall) in 2005, Gerbe just turned 26 on Wednesday. The native of Oxford, MI, played three seasons at Boston College, where he scored 133 points (71g, 62a) in 123 games. He notched a career-high 16 goals during his first full NHL season with Buffalo in 2010-11.

Should Gerbe be unable to secure a spot within Carolina’s top nine, he would provide a welcome boost to Charlotte, which could be without the services of four of its top five scorers from last season due to NHL promotions (Brett Sutter, Zac Dalpe and Riley Nash) or still-unresolved contract situations (Zach Boychuk), providing he cleared waivers. Alternatively, if Gerbe makes the team, that would increase the chances of one of those players returning to the Checkers.

Gerbe becomes the fourth player from outside of the organization to sign a two-way deal with Carolina this month, joining forward Aaron Palushaj and defensemen Matt Corrente and Mark Flood. A full rundown of Carolina’s offseason activities can be found here.