Hurricanes sign Keegan Lowe to entry-level deal

The Carolina Hurricanes came to terms Thursday with defenseman Keegan Lowe on a three-year, entry-level contract.

Lowe, a third-round pick of the Hurricanes in the 2011 NHL Draft, is the son of six-time Stanley Cup champion Kevin Lowe, currently the Edmonton Oilers president of hockey operations.

At the NHL level, the deal will pay Lowe $610,000 in 2013-14, $660,000 in 2014-15 and $710,000 in 2015-16. At the AHL level, he would be paid $67,500 per season, and the deal also includes a $235,000 signing bonus. He will remain with his junior team, the Edmonton Oil Kings of the Western Hockey League, as they enter the postseason as the first seed in the WHL's Eastern Conference.

The 6-foot-2 Lowe, 19, has 15 goals and 30 points in 63 games with the Oil Kings this season. The Greenwich, CT, native leads his team, and ranks second among WHL defensemen and fifth among all WHL skaters with 148 penalty minutes, and his team-leading plus-37 rating is tied for seventh among WHL blueliners. His 15 goals rank first on Edmonton’s blue line and are tied for eighth among league defensemen.

In four WHL seasons, Lowe has amassed 22 goals, 91 points and 470 penalty minutes in 275 regular-season games with the Oil Kings. He totaled three goals, seven points and 44 penalty minutes while playing in all 20 of Edmonton’s games en route to the 2012 WHL championship.