Hurricanes Sign Mike Reilly

Despite playing only in a reserve capacity, Reilly did manage to appear regularly on the penalty kill in the games he did dress for, averaging nearly a minute of short-handed time on ice per game across the whole season.

Reilly also did get into some playoff games, registering two assists in two games during the team’s championship run.

While Reilly certainly had a season to remember in 2025-26, it did not result in any great financial benefit.

He hit unrestricted free agency in July, and has taken until today, in early September, to sign. He’s far from the only experienced defenseman to endure a longer-than-expected stay on the open market this summer (Nick Blankenburg is another name that comes to mind), but it is nonetheless notable.

Since his age-24 season, Reilly has appeared in 414 NHL games. In that same time frame, he’s only skated in 37 contests at the AHL level. Outside of the 2022-23 season, when he was unable to seize a full-time NHL role on a Boston Bruins roster that ended up winning 65 games, Reilly has been a true NHL player. Other than that one specific instance, he has exclusively played in the NHL.

Yet despite capably handling the No. 7 defenseman role for the Stanley Cup champions, he’s settled for a two-way contract. Reilly has played on one-way deals since 2019-20. Even if he continues to hold down an NHL roster spot in Carolina, Reilly will take a pay cut on his current deal compared to last year, as his $850K salary for 2026-27 is below the $1.1MM he was owed last season.

That’s not to say, though, that the Hurricanes haven’t made a relatively substantial investment in their depth by signing Reilly. He has the highest AHL salary of any Hurricane on a two-way contract. But it is still worth noting that the Hurricanes were able to sign 27-year-old Pierre-Olivier Joseph to a one-way contract earlier this week, and not Reilly. Joseph will compete with Reilly and 24-year-old Joel Nystrom, who makes $1.225MM against the cap, to be Carolina’s seventh defenseman this season.

Carolina’s move to shore up the depth of its blueline may also raise eyebrows given the status of key RFA defenseman Alexander Nikishin. While teams frequently make depth signings and it’s entirely possible the additions of Reilly and Joseph are completely separate from Nikishin’s situation, it’s natural to draw connections here.

Nikishin’s name has been featured prominently in trade rumors this summer, and one wonders if the $8MM in cap space the Hurricanes have remaining, according to PuckPedia, will be enough to get Nikishin’s signature on a contract extension. The 24-year-old was among the more impressive rookies last season, finishing with 33 points in 81 games averaging 18:11 time on ice per game. He finished seventh in Calder voting and was named to the All-Rookie team.

Regardless of what final shape the Hurricanes’ blueline ultimately takes, this decision to sign Reilly gives Carolina more options as it considers how to construct its opening-night roster. While Reilly may be disappointed to be playing on a two-way deal for the first time this decade, getting the chance to return to one of the league’s leading contenders may soften that blow.