NHL Insider Reveals Exactly How Hurricanes Managed to Pry Nikolaj Ehlers from Jets

NHL insider Murat Ates revealed that Nikolaj Ehlers had numerous conversations with the Hurricanes, and he did his research on the city prior to signing.

Eric Tulsky was home on his day off when the call came. The practice facilities of the Hurricanes were under renovation, and he was in his recliner when Nikolaj Ehlers' agent, Andre Rufener, called to deliver the news Tulsky had been waiting for.

Carolina had coveted Nikolaj Ehlers for years. The Hurricanes had explored trading for him and were among the first to make their move when he became a free agent after 10 years with Winnipeg.

Telling Ehlers they were a good match, Tulsky had been impressed by how thoroughly Ehlers had researched the team, from its cap room to Raleigh city life. He'd also spoken to head coach Rod Brind'Amour and goalie Frederik Andersen.

Washington and Colorado were very much in the mix for Ehlers

But the Hurricanes weren't alone. Rufener and Ehlers had been fielding calls from various teams, Washington and Colorado included.

The waiting finally ended sometime around 3 p.m. on July 3, when Rufener phoned. Tulsky got up, pushed his laptop to the side, and paced while taking the call.

'You make your best pitch, but with a highly sought-after free agent, it's always possible that the player will decide that some other opportunity suits them better,' Tulsky told The Athletic. 'You just have to wait and hope to get a call with good news.'

'Andre had a glowingly positive tone in his voice when he said, 'Hello, my friend.' My first thought was, 'I'm going to be pretty shocked if that's how he delivers bad news.''