One of the heroes of the Carolina Hurricanes surprising run to the 2009 NHL Eastern Conference Final will be staying in the fold.

27-year-old winger Chad LaRose agreed to a new contract on Thursday with the Hurricanes, signing on for two more years at an affordable $3.4 million or $1.7 million against the cap starting next season.

LaRose is not only coming off a career-best regular season performance for goals (19) and points (31) but in the post-season he was one of the reasons the Hurricanes upset the heavily favored New Jersey Devils and Boston Bruins en route to the Conference Final before falling to the eventual Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins in a four-game sweep.

His 11 points in 18 playoff games made him the second-highest scorer on the Hurricanes this spring.

It may be premature to start expecting LaRose, who’s been a checking line forward for much of his four-year NHL career, to carry over that kind of performance into next season.

 He’s not going to be challenging for the team lead in points over the next two seasons, but LaRose’s post-season play plus his improvement during the regular season suggests he’s developed into a strong two-way third line winger who could also fill in on the second line when required.