Hurricanes sign Nikita Quapp to entry-level contract

The Carolina Hurricanes announced on Tuesday that they have signed goaltender Nikita Quapp to a two-year, entry-level contract.

The contract will pay Quapp $55,000 at the AHL level and $775,000 at the NHL level. According to the team, the 2024-2025 season counts as the first year of the two-year pact.

The Hurricanes used the 171st overall pick in the sixth round of the 2021 NHL entry draft on Quapp, who has played professionally in Germany since.

“Nikita is a big netminder with several years of experience in the top German league” general manager Eric Tulsky said via the team’s press release. “We look forward to tracking his development as he transitions to professional hockey in North America.”

Quapp, who backstopped the German U-20 team at the 2022 and 2023 U20 World Junior Championships, appeared in nine games this season for Dusseldorfer EG of the DEL, posting a .870 save percentage with a record of 0-5-0. Quapp signed a contract to play in the second-tier German league

During the 2023-2024 campaign, Quapp spent most of his time on loan with Lausitzer Fuchse of the DEL2. There, he went 11-14-0 with a 2.63 goals against average and .920 save percentage.

Carolina currently has both Frederik Andersen and Pyotr Kochetkov under contract for next season, while 20-year-old Russian Ruslan Khazheyev is the only goalie under contract for the AHL Chicago Wolves. It’s unclear if Quapp will come over to North America next year.

Dustin Tokarski and Spencer Martin are both set to be unrestricted free agents, while Yaniv Perets is a pending restricted free agent.