NHL Rumors: Insider pegs Carolina Hurricanes to land ex-Flyers star in one-year deal

According to Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman, the Carolina Hurricanes have signed forward Brendan Lemieux to a one-year, $800,000 contract.

Lemieux will play with his fifth NHL franchise, Carolina, and this will be his first free-agent move.

The Buffalo Sabres drafted the son of four-time Stanley Cup winner Claude Lemieux, with the 31st overall choice in 2014, and in the nine years afterwards, he has been dealt four times.

Brendan Lemieux, 27, spent last season splitting time between the Philadelphia Flyers and Los Angeles Kings thanks to a deadline day deal.

After the move, the 6-foot-1, 213-pound troublemaker winger scored twice in 18 games for the Flyers and finished the previous season with nine points and 74 misconducts in 45 games.

Most Hurricanes supporters weren't expecting this roster change, though. Many believed the Carolina Hurricanes were in a holding pattern until they could make one more significant move, that would require some creative money management, given the team's meagre projected cap space of $3.3MM, per CapFriendly.

The team has recently been linked to higher-profile names like Erik Karlsson and Vladimir Tarasenko, as well as a rumoured trade for Anthony DeAngelo, a former teammate of Lemieux's with the New York Rangers.

Evidently, such conversations haven't deterred the Carolina Hurricanes from adding depth. It is doubtful that Lemieux will be able to land a regular fourth-line position given the present status of Carolina's wing depth.

Lemieux has not featured in more than 60 games in a season, so it won't be anything out of the ordinary for him.

He'll compete for playing time with depth wingers Stefan Noesen and Jordan Martinook. Both of whom have a greater scoring potential and performed well for the Carolina Hurricanes late in the last season and into the playoffs.

He does, however, bring a certain level of irritability and stubbornness that may offer him an advantage in some circumstances while trying to make the team.

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Brendan Lemieux is a known troublemaker on the ice

Brendan Lemieux has developed an aggressive playstyle which he modeled after his father, Claude.

In the 2019–20 NHL season, Lemieux took seven of his own penalties while drawing 19 from competing teams, demonstrating the effectiveness of his agitator role in pressuring opponents into committing penalties.

Lemieux has come under fire from certain sportswriters for putting more emphasis on honing his aggressive playing style than on scoring goals. In 109 games with the Rangers, he only had 11 goals and 31 points.

The aggressive play of Lemieux has often drawn criticism from rival skaters. Brady Tkachuk, the captain of the Ottawa Senators, called Brendan Lemieux "gutless" after he bit him after a game.

It will be interesting to see if he can change his style of play in the 2023-24 season for the Carolina Hurricanes.