The Carolina Hurricanes continued their strong offseason on Thursday by signing free agent forward Nikolaj Ehlers to a six-year, $51 million contract.
Ehlers entered the offseason as the second-best free agent available behind Mitch Marner (who inked an eight-year, $96 million contract with the Las Vegas Golden Knights on June 30) and is a perfect fit for Carolina's system.
WORTH THE WAIT
— Carolina Hurricanes (@Canes) July 3, 2025
The #Canes have agreed to terms with forward Nikolaj Ehlers on a six-year contract.
Details » https://t.co/luMeZH3OfN pic.twitter.com/kVBfuaFseP
As solid an addition as it is, it is still worth wondering if the Hurricanes' offseason as a whole is enough to get them over the hump in the Eastern Conference.
Carolina has been one of the NHL's top teams over the past seven years, advancing to the Eastern Conference Finals three times since the 2018-19 season. However, it has consistently run into one major problem: a lack of a game-changing superstar.
Each Stanley Cup champion has at least one or two of those players, but the Hurricanes don't seem to have any.
It's not that Carolina doesn't have good players. In fact, there are few weaknesses on the roster. Ehlers, as well as the addition of defenseman K'Andre Miller, only add to that.
Ehlers is an excellent fit for the Hurricanes because he can be penciled in for 25-30 goals and 60-65 points per season, while also achieving outstanding puck-possession metrics. He is a solid two-way player who moves the play forward and can help tilt the ice in his team's favor.
Miller is a similar addition on defense due to his mobility and puck-moving skills.
For all of Ehlers and Miller's positive attributes, they are more of the same for the Hurricanes — good, but not quite great players.
Carolina will be a contender in the Eastern Conference again in 2024-25, but whether these moves make them better than the back-to-back Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers or the elite teams in the Western Conference remains to be seen.
The Hurricanes have worked hard to address their lack of a superstar the past two years, acquiring Jake Guentzel and Mikko Rantanen in consecutive trade deadlines. But Guentzel bolted after the 2023-24 season to sign in Tampa Bay, while Rantanen and the Hurricanes could not come to terms on a contract extension, resulting in him being quickly flipped at this year's deadline for Logan Stankoven and two first-round picks.
Carolina entered the offseason boasting a shockingly large amount of salary cap space for a contender, as well as significant trade capital in the form of prospects and draft picks. They reportedly had interest in Marner, who would have been a great fit, but had to pivot after he went to Vegas.
They cashed in a lot of cap space to re-sign Stankoven to a steal of a contract, acquire (and re-sign) Miller in a trade with the New York Rangers and sign Ehlers.
Adding a full season of Stankoven, Ehlers and Miller to their returning core is going to make for a talented club.
That said, none are the type of superstar that Carolina has consistently lacked, which may not make for a different outcome than previous seasons.
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