The Carolina Hurricanes made a somewhat unusual, but quite necessary roster move Sunday afternoon, signing 2016 third-round draft pick Jack LaFontaine to an entry-level contract.
For LaFontaine, the deal ends his career at the University of Minnesota mid-season, a campaign in which he was 12-8-0 with a 2.69 GAA and .900 SV% for the Golden Gophers. LaFontaine won the Mike Richter Award in 2020-21, given to the NCAA’s top goaltender, after going 22-7-0 with a 1.79 GAA and .934 SV% while leading Minnesota to the No. 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
But now LaFontaine’s career moves on to its next phase, as he’ll join a Hurricanes’ organization suddenly in desperate need of some healthy goaltending depth.