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Nikolaj Ehlers scored his fifth career hat trick Friday night in Columbus. (Amy Irvin / The Hockey Writers)

Hurricanes’ Offseason Just Getting Better With Ehlers Signing

Originally posted on The Hockey Writers | By Zach Martin | Last updated Jul 4, 2025 9:05 AM ET

What a few days for the Carolina Hurricanes during the first week of free agency. A slew of July 1 moves saw an eight-year extension for Logan Stankoven, followed by a sign-and-trade for K’Andre Miller from the New York Rangers. Entering Thursday, July 3, the Hurricanes were looking to continue the building process of their roster going into the 2025-26 season. One name that kept floating around them after all of the early moves were done was Danish forward Nikolaj Ehlers. Ehlers was linked to the Hurricanes, Washington Capitals, Utah Mammoth, and others. It was unclear what the contract would be, but there was a ton of interest in the 29-year-old Danish winger. In the end, the Hurricanes won the Ehlers sweepstakes and now the new No. 27 will be part of Rod Brind’Amour’s team for the foreseeable future. That said, what does it mean now for Ehlers and the Hurricanes?

Ehlers to Make Impact with Hurricanes

On Thursday afternoon, the Hurricanes announced the signing of Ehlers to a six-year, $51 million deal with an average annual value of $8.5 million. He will be an unrestricted free agent (UFA) following the 2030-31 season at the age of 35. After the Ehlers deal, the Hurricanes still have $10.644 million left in cap space to continue making additions to the roster. Getting Ehlers for the next six seasons will be a massive boost for the Hurricanes, who’ve been looking for that elite top-six winger, and now they have one. During the 2024-25 season, Ehlers had 24 goals and 63 points in 69 games for the Winnipeg Jets. That was after following up a 25-goal and 61-point season in 2023-24, giving him back-to-back 60-plus point seasons. While he has not scored 30 goals in a season, Ehlers has had 20 or more goals in eight of his 10-season NHL career, all with the Jets.

Ehlers in 2024-25 averaged 15:48 of time on ice and was a plus-14 for the Jets. He scored six power-play goals and five game-winning goals while having a 13.8% shooting percentage (S%). Ehlers finally got some first power-play unit time after waiting for seasons to get the opportunity. When he did, he took advantage of that.

What makes Ehlers a great addition to the Hurricanes is his speed. When it comes to analytics and speed, he is the guy the Hurricanes will enjoy having on their roster for the next six seasons. Per NHL Edge, he showed that he has some of the quickest skating ability in the league when he is going north-south, making him a tough player to stop. While his 18-20 mph bursts are around league average, his 20 mph bursts and greater show him to be in the top 85th percentile in the league. Once he is rolling, there is no stopping him.

		League average by position (F/D)	Percentile
Top Speed (mph)	23.30	22.18	94th
22+ mph bursts	11	3.7	91st
20-22 mph bursts	142	72.8	85th
18-20 mph bursts	382	325.6	55th

When looking at his season as a whole shooting-wise, NHL Edge showed that Ehlers had 174 shots on goal, which put him in the 85th percentile for all skaters. Furthermore, he was in the 85th percentile for goals (24) and 59th in shooting percentage. Overall, not bad for a player who is known for his two-way game with some solid scoring touch. Another asset that Ehlers has to bring for the Hurricanes is his deceptive shot speed. For a player like Ehlers, who has a 13.8 S%, he is someone who can get a hold of one anywhere on the ice. NHL Edge tracked Ehlers’ shooting speed, and it’s something to behold.

Nikolaj Ehlers scored his fifth career hat trick Friday night in Columbus. (Amy Irvin / The Hockey Writers)

Ehlers’ fastest shot during the 2024-25 season was 93.92 mph, putting him in the 94th percentile in the NHL. The league average is 83.92 mph. What’s impressive is that his average mph on his shot came out to 62.63 mph, which was in the 89th percentile compared to the league average of 56.85 mph. Finally, Ehlers placed himself in the 89th percentile on 90-100 mph shots (two), 95th in 80-90 mph shots (40), and 94th in 70-80 mph shots (84). The league average, comparatively speaking, is .64, 9.37, and 28.71. Not only does Ehlers have some high-end elite speed, but he also has some high-end elite shooting that other teams don’t expect on a nightly basis from the 6-foot Danish winger.

“Nikolaj was the top free agent available on July 1, and we are proud that he’s chosen to make Carolina his home. He’s a highly-skilled winger who can really skate and will fit very well with our forward group,” general manager Eric Tulsky stated after the signing. After an addition like Ehlers, there is no doubt that the Hurricanes will be one of the teams mentioned as a contender for the Stanley Cup during the 2026 NHL Playoffs. There is a long way to go until the start of the season; however, adding a player like Ehlers will take them to another level that they’ve been wanting for a long time.

Work Still Left to Do

While the Hurricanes did get Ehlers, they still have $10.644 million plus assets to make more moves this season. Whether it be trades, offer sheets, and/or signings, they aren’t done yet when it comes to building the roster for the 2025-26 season. Ehlers joins a winger group of Andrei Svechnikov, Seth Jarvis, and Taylor Hall in the top six. The question is, will he be on the second line or the top line with Sebastian Aho? Only time will tell, but Hurricanes fans and the team are excited to have Ehlers as part of the group for the next six seasons.