Haydn Fleury has signed a new contract with the Carolina Hurricanes.

getting one year is not a good sign

But for 850K?

What else was he gonna get? He only played 20 games last season and was a healthy scratch otherwise. With De Haan gone, he now has an opportunity to grab a regular lineup spot. He didn't deserve anything more than a year.

Has he been that big of a bust, or what? 7th overall pick! I think Jake Bean will slot in on CAR's 3rd pair. Fleury is destined for another season of AHL or healthy scratch.

was he too good for the ahl? i feel like if you're 22 year old defensemen is under-performing you put him the ahl so he gets playing time, rather than in the press box

*shrug* the NHL draft is a big ol' guessing game. talent dropoff in the draft doesn't correlate one-to-one with overall draft number. the 7th overall pick is not by definition better than the 8th or 9th overall pick, as can be seen from literally every draft ever.
and, given the one-way nature of his contract, I'd expect him to stick around on the roster. Bean's only had one season in the AHL, and defenders have more facets of their game to pay attention to and develop than forwards, so I wouldn't assume he's destined to make the roster.

he did play 28 games for the Checkers.
I would imagine the coaching staff saw that he was probably too good for the AHL. things that defenders do well aren't usually apparent from stat sheets.

Finally getting that full time roster spot. Nice.

Sounds pretty fair. I was just looking at their AHL numbers and the fact that Bean is 2 years younger than Fleury. Also, CAR was one of the deepest teams in the league last season at D so one of them will step in for De Haan.

Should look to trade him soon

Will he even play a full NHL season?
Do you even need cap-space this year?

If the Leafs were interested in some of your young bottom-pair / bubble defensemen:

What would the ask be for each?
Who is best/worst out of the group?
Who has the most potential?
Most trade value?

I ask because I haven't really seen any of them play ... so all I know if their numbers:

RD - Rolly McKeener
RD - Trevy van Dyker
LD - Haydy McFleury
LD - Jakey Beaner
LD - Trevy Carrick
LD - Gussy Forsling

I'm gonna give you some props for those hockey nicknames (if only because they're likely actually more creative than the ones actual hockey players use). Fleury's nickname should absolutely be "McFlurry," if it's not already.