In the fifth of a 32 part series leading up to the start of the 2025-26 National Hockey League regular season, we will look at the key off-season transactions made by all NHL organizations with an overall grade. Here are the Carolina Hurricanes.
The Hurricanes made it all the way to the Eastern Conference Finals this past season before losing to the Florida Panthers in five games. Carolina did not make a lot of moves in the offseason, but the two moves they did make were simply gigantic. They signed a first line forward and acquired a first pairing defenseman.
Nikolaj Ehlers
Ehlers signed a six-year contract worth $51 million. He will be making $8.5 million per season through to 2030-31. Unlike, Mikko Rantanen, Ehlers appears to be an elite European forward who wants to be in Carolina for the foreseeable future. The Hurricanes are planning to start Ehlers on a number one line that has three European players. Ehlers is the projected first line left winger alongside center Sebastian Aho of Rauma, Finland, and right winger Andrei Svechnikov of Barnaul, Russia.
Over the last decade, Ehlers has been a member of the Winnipeg Jets. In 69 games this past season, he had 24 goals and 39 assists for 63 points. Ehlers was a +14 with 17 penalty minutes, 22 power play points, five game-winning goals, one hat trick, 33 blocked shots, 16 takeaways, and 52 giveaways. The three-goal game came in a 6-2 Jets win over the Columbus Blue Jackets on November 1.
K’Andre Miller
Miller was initially traded from the New York Rangers to the Hurricanes for defenseman Scott Morrow and two draft picks in 2026 on Canada Day. He then signed an eight-year contract worth $60 million after five seasons with the Rangers. He will be making $7.5 million through to 2032-33. The Hurricanes fans will have a lot to be excited about the fact that Miller will be on the Hurricanes’s top defensive pairing alongside defenseman Jaccob Slaavin of Denver, Colorado.
This past season with the Rangers, Miller had seven goals and 20 assists for 27 points in 74 games. He had 22 penalty minutes with two power-play points, one game-winning goal, 110 shots on goal, 110 blocked shots, 107 hits, 47 takeaways, and 97 giveaways.
Hurricanes Off Season Grade
Carolina is amongst the elite teams in the NHL, and there was no need for general manager Eric Tulsky to tinker with the lineup too much. The Hurricanes have moved on from the disastrous trade last season with the Colorado Avalanche where they thought they could add Rantanen to their long term plans, but it was simply not meant to be.
The Hurricanes deserve praise in adding Miller and Ehlers. My grade for Carolina is a B. The reason why it is not an A is because Ehlers has had his fair share 0f injuries in recent years, and Miller was involved in a losing culture this past season in the Big Apple.
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