Hurricanes signal Nik Ehlers to 6-year, $51 million deal

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 accessible after the league’s new yr formally opened on Tuesday.

“Nikolaj was the highest free agent accessible on July 1, and we’re proud that he is chosen to make Carolina his house,” stated GM Eric Tulsky. “He is a extremely expert winger who can actually skate and can match very nicely with our ahead group.”

The winger had spent his total 10-year profession so far with the Winnipeg Jets — who drafted him ninth total in 2014 — accumulating 225 objectives and 520 factors in 674 video games. Ehlers has eclipsed the 20-goal mark in eight seasons already and he averaged almost 16 minutes a recreation at each 5-on-5 and the facility play.

The 29-year-old is coming off one in every of his greatest seasons ever after scoring 24 objectives and grabbing 63 factors in 69 video games. Winnipeg received the franchise’s first-ever Presidents’ Trophy awarded to the league’s high staff on the energy of its 122-point marketing campaign, and Ehlers added 5 objectives and 7 factors in playoff video games because the Jets battled by to a second-round postseason loss in opposition to Dallas.

Carolina has been making an attempt so as to add a scoring winger like Ehlers long-term for over a yr. Former GM Don Waddell introduced in Jake Guentzel on the 2024 commerce deadline to provide the Hurricanes a lift, however Guentzel in the end walked away in free company. Then 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 compelled to commerce him once more (this time to the Stars). Tulsky had additionally tried to amass 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 might have used the assistance from someplace. Carolina was a high 10 staff offensively within the 2024-25 common season, averaging 3.24 objectives per recreation, however that quantity dipped beneath three within the playoffs and Carolina struggled particularly within the Japanese Convention closing in opposition to 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 top-six function and will elevate potential new linemates like Sebastian Aho and Jesperi Kotkaniemi.