Carolina adds two goalies and depth to the blueline
Spencer Martin and Dustin Tokarski are out.
Cayden Primeau and Amir Miftakhov are in.
The Carolina Hurricanes replaced their goalie depth today with one year deals to two netminders.
Primeau was acquired from Montreal on Monday for a 7th round draft pick. His contract was for $775,000 and it appears to be a one-way deal.
Miftakhov has played in the NHL before but has recently returned from the KHL. He got a two-way deal which pays $775,000 in the NHL and $100,000 in the AHL, with a guarantee of $240,000.
The also signed defenseman, Mike Reilly, to a one year, one way deal worth $1.1 million.
The press releases are below.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – July 1, 2025
‘CANES SIGN MIKE REILLY TO ONE-YEAR CONTRACT
Defenseman has totaled 18-106-124 in 418 career NHL games
RALEIGH, NC – Eric Tulsky, General Manager of the National Hockey League’s Carolina Hurricanes, today announced that the team has signed defenseman Mike Reilly to a one-year contract. The deal will pay Reilly $1.1 million for the 2025-26 season.
“Mike is a veteran defenseman who is capable of stepping in and contributing on both ends of the ice,” said Tulsky. “He missed time with a health procedure last season, but returned to action in the spring and will be ready to go for training camp.”
Reilly, 31, registered two points (2a) in 18 games with the Islanders in 2024-25. He missed the majority of the 2024-25 season following a heart procedure on Nov. 19, 2024. The blueliner has totaled 18-106-124 in 418 career NHL games with the Minnesota Wild, Montreal Canadiens, Ottawa Senators, Boston Bruins, Florida Panthers and New York Islanders. Reilly also posted 18 goals and 62 assists (80 points) in 139 career AHL games with Iowa Wild from 2015-18. The 6’2”, 191-pound defenseman was originally selected by the Columbus Blue Jackets in the fourth-round, 98th overall, at the 2011 NHL Draft.
Prior to his professional career, Reilly played three seasons at the University of Minnesota, recording 89 points (18g, 71a) in 117 games from 2012-15. He earned the Big Ten Conference’s Defensive Player of the Year award and a Hobey Baker nomination in 2015, posting 42 points (6g, 36a) in 39 games. The Chicago, Illinois native represented the United States at the 2015 IIHF World Championship, winning bronze, and the 2013 IIHF U20 World Championship, winning gold.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – July 1, 2025
‘CANES SIGN CAYDEN PRIMEAU TO ONE-YEAR DEAL
Goaltender was acquired from Montreal on Monday
RALEIGH, NC – Eric Tulsky, General Manager of the National Hockey League’s Carolina Hurricanes, today announced that the team has signed goaltender Cayden Primeau to a one-year contract, which will pay him $775,000 for the 2025-26 season. Carolina acquired Primeau on Monday from the Montreal Canadiens, in exchange for a seventh-round selection in the 2026 NHL Draft.
Primeau, 25, who is the son of former Hurricanes captain Keith Primeau, posted a 2-3-1 record, 4.70 goals-against average and .836 save percentage in 11 games with the Montreal Canadiens in 2024-25. He spent the majority of the season with the Laval Rocket in the American Hockey League (AHL) where he registered a 21-2-3 record, 1.96 GAA and .927 SV% in 26 games. The 6’3”, 205-pound netminder also appeared in eight playoff games with the Rocket, posting a 3-4-0 record, 3.27 GAA and .878 SV%. Primeau won the 2025 Harry Holmes Memorial Award for the AHL Best Goaltending duo alongside teammate Connor Hughes.
Primeau has registered a 13-24-7 record, 3.69 GAA, .884 SV% and two shutouts in 55 career NHL games with the Canadiens from 2019-2025. He has also posted an 84-44-18 record, 2.60 GAA, .912 SV% and 13 shutouts in 149 career AHL games with Laval from 2019-2025. Primeau was named to the 2020 AHL All-Rookie Team and the 2021 AHL All-Star Team. Prior to his professional career, he spent two seasons at Northeastern University where he earned a 44-18-6 record, 2.00 GAA and .932 SV% in 70 games from 2017-2019. After posting a 19-8-5 record, 1.92 GAA, .931 SV% and four shutouts in 34 games in his freshman year at Northeastern, he was named the Hockey East Goaltender of the Year, the New England Rookie of the Year and to the Hockey East All-Rookie and All-Star Teams. The Farmington Hills, Michigan native earned a 25-10-1 record, 2.09 GAA, .933 SV% and four shutouts in 36 games in his sophomore year to help Northeastern win the Hockey East Championship. He was also awarded the Mike Richter Award for the Top Collegiate Goalie, named Hockey East’s Goaltender of the Year and to the Hockey East First All-American and First All-Star Teams.
Primeau has represented the United States at the 2019 IIHF World Championship, 2019 IIHF U20 World Championship (silver) and the 2017 IIHF U18 World Championship (gold). He was originally selected by the Montreal Canadiens in the seventh round, 199th overall at the 2017 NHL Draft.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – July 1, 2025
‘CANES SIGN AMIR MIFTAKHOV TO ONE-YEAR TWO-WAY CONTRACT
Goaltender posted 13-11-3 record with AK Bars Kazan (KHL) in 2024-25
RALEIGH, NC – Eric Tulsky, General Manager of the National Hockey League’s Carolina Hurricanes, today announced that the team has signed goaltender Amir Miftakhov to a one-year, two-way contract. The deal will pay Miftakhov $775,000 on the NHL level or $100,000 on the American Hockey League (AHL) level, with a guarantee of at least $240,000.
“Amir has put together a number of solid seasons in the KHL and is ready to return to professional hockey in North America,” said Tulsky. “It’s important to have goaltending depth, and we look forward to having him in our organization.”
Miftakhov, 25, posted a 13-11-3 record, 2.18 goals-against average, .927 save percentage and four shutouts in 30 games with AK Bars Kazan in the KHL. He also appeared in two playoff games, going 0-1-0 with a 3.38 GAA. The Kazan, Russia, native has registered a 38-29-4 record, 2.19 GAA, .922 SV% and 11 shutouts in 82 career KHL games from 2019-2025 with AK Bars Kazan. The 6’0”, 172-pound netminder also spent the 2021-22 season in North America, posting a 7-8-4 record, 3.03 GAA and .891 SV% in 22 games with the Syracuse Crunch in the American Hockey League (AHL) and 2-3-0 record, 2.23 GAA and .920 SV% in five games with the Orlando Solar Bears (ECHL).
Miftakhov represented Russia at the 2020 IIHF U20 World Championship, winning silver, the 2019 U20 World Championship, winning bronze, and the 2018 U18 World Championship, where he was named a top three player on the team.