The Carolina Hurricanes have made their splashy offseason signing, inking ahead Nik Ehlers to a six-year, $51 million contract on Thursday.
Ehlers was the ultimate outstanding unrestricted free agent obtainable after the league’s new 12 months formally opened on Tuesday.
“Nikolaj was the highest free agent obtainable on July 1, and we’re proud that he is chosen to make Carolina his house,” stated GM Erik Tulsky. “He is a highly-skilled winger who can actually skate and can match very effectively with our ahead group.”
The winger had spent his complete 10-year profession so far with the Winnipeg Jets – who drafted him ninth total in 2014 – gathering 225 targets and 520 factors in 674 video games. Ehlers has eclipsed the 20-goal mark in eight seasons already and he averaged practically 16 minutes a sport at each 5-on-5 and the facility play.
The 29-year-old is coming off certainly one of his finest seasons ever after scoring 24 targets and grabbing 63 factors in 69 video games. Winnipeg received the franchise’s first-ever presidents’ trophy awarded to the league’s prime workforce on the power of its 122-point marketing campaign, and Ehlers added 5 targets and 7 factors in playoff video games because the Jets battled by way of to a second-round postseason loss towards Dallas.
Carolina has been attempting so as to add a scoring winger like Ehlers long-term for over a 12 months. Former GM Don Waddell introduced in Jake Guentzel on the 2024 commerce deadline to present the Hurricanes a lift, however Guentzel in the end walked away once more in free company. Then present GM Erik Tulsky tried to enhance the Hurricanes up entrance by buying Mikko Rantanen in a commerce with Colorado in January.
The partnership wasn’t meant to be although, as Rantanen – then a pending unrestricted free agent – made it clear he would not be re-signing with Carolina and so Tulsky was pressured to commerce him once more (this time to the Stars). Tulsky had additionally tried to accumulate then-Toronto Maple Leafs ahead Mitch Marner on the deadline, however Marner refused to waive his no commerce clause to finish the transaction.
The Hurricanes may have used the assistance from someplace. Carolina was a prime 10 workforce offensively within the 2024-25 common season, averaging 3.24 targets per sport, however that quantity dipped under three within the playoffs and Carolina struggled particularly within the Japanese Convention Closing towards Florida to generate constantly up entrance.
Now the Hurricanes have a pure offensive risk in Ehlers who has dedicated to the franchise. He’ll slide right into a prime six function and will elevate potential new linemates like Sebastian Aho and Jesperi Kotkaniemi.