While the Carolina Hurricanes certainly made a splash on the opening day of free agency, it wasn't through the signing of a UFA.
No, the Hurricanes' biggest move of the week came from a trade for defenseman K'Andre Miller from the New York Rangers (acquired for rookie defenseman Scott Morrow, a 2026 first and a 2026 second).
The Canes have had a couple of UFA signings, but all have been to address organizational depth rather than to improve the roster, but that's to be expected.
The 2025 UFA class was already a pretty weak one and that was even before most players decided to go ahead and re-sign with their own teams.
Now, the only true top-six upgrade the Canes can pursue is Nikolaj Ehlers, who Carolina is reportedly the top contender for.
"We've had talks with his agent and he's taking his time to field offers," said Carolina general manager Eric Tulsky on Tuesday. "He's obviously a very popular person right now and we're waiting to see where that goes."
Top Pairing Defenseman and Beloved Teammate Brent Burns Finds New Home In ColoradoIt seems that former Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Brent Burns is indeed moving on to a new opportunity, as it was announced that the blueliner has signed a one-year deal with the Colorado Avalanche on Wednesday.
While they're waiting on Ehlers to make a decision, the Hurricanes have fortified their depth.
The first thing the team did was improve their goaltending depth, trading for Montreal Canadiens goaltender Cayden Primeau (in exchange for a 2026 seventh) and signing KHL goaltender Amir Miftakhov.
Carolina had a clear lack of depth at the goaltender position heading into this offseason with Spencer Martin opting to pursue an opportunity in the KHL and Dustin Tokarski well beyond his years.
With no other goalie prospects in the system ready for that next step either, the Canes went out and added two options with potential upside.
"Spencer [Martin's] been really good for us these past couple of years, but he was ready to move on," Tulsky said. "He had another opportunity which he wanted to pursue, so we needed a new person to bring in to be that number three. Dustin [Tokarski] was also great for us in a number four role last year, but we were looking to get a little bit younger and so we brought in two players who we think are both capable of providing that depth and also have upside to grow into more than that and help give us opportunities to keep taking steps forward in the future."
Primeau, 25, has spent time between the NHL and AHL over the last six seasons, but has had very strong AHL numbers throughout.
The 6-foot-3 netminder has a 84-44-18 record and a 0.912 save percentage in 149 AHL games, but just a 0.884 save percentage in 55 NHL appearances.
“Cayden is just 25 and coming off his best AHL season," Tulsky said. "He adds seasoned depth to our organization at the goaltending position."
Miftakhov, 25, had a 13-11-3 record with Ak Bars Kazan last season with a 0.927 save percentage.
The Russian netminder was drafted in 2020 by the Tampa Bay Lightning and spent just one season in North America before returning to Russia.
Over the last three seasons, Miftakhov has had a 0.927 save percentage, 0.930 and a 0.917.
"Amir has put together a number of solid seasons in the KHL and is ready to return to professional hockey in North America," Tulsky said. "It’s important to have goaltending depth, and we look forward to having him in our organization.”
Both netminders are signed to one-year, $775,000 deals.
Carolina also signed defenseman Mike Reilly to a one-year, $1.1 million contract for a bit more defensive depth too.
Reilly, 31, is a journeyman, left-handed defenseman who has some pretty good offensive upside to his game.
He's a veteran of 418 games across 10 seasons and with six franchises and has had 18 goals and 124 points in those games.
"This is another player who I think should look his best for us ," Tulsky said. "He skates really well, he's effective coming down the wall in the offensive zone and pinching and has the speed to get back and to cover. He can get up all over the ice and we want players taking away time and space through the neutral zone and into the d-zone and he can do that. He has skill with the puck and the ability to transport it and make plays. I think he's going to be really effective for us."
Reilly also had heart surgery last season when testing following a concussion in November, found an undetected heart defect that the veteran had been born with.
“It was picked up through the different echocardiograms that you do for different reasons that you go through with any post-concussion situation," said at-the-time general manager Lou Lamoriello. "It's probably a blessing in disguise of what transpired. They detected this, something that you're sometimes born with but never knew."
Reilly was cleared to return to the ice just two months later and the procedure isn't expected to have any additional impairment to his life or his ability to play.
Finally, the Canes brought back the well-liked Tyson Jost, a versatile forward who played in 39 games with the Hurricanes last season, on a one-year, two-way extension that will pay the forward $775,000 at the NHL level, $300,000 at the AHL and $600,000 guaranteed.
"Tyson was able to contribute to our organization in a number of different ways last year, and we’re happy to keep him here,” Tulsky said. “He’s extremely well-liked and hard-working and capable of playing a number of different roles in the lineup.”
Recent Stories
• Carolina Takes Big Swing On Talented New York Blueliner
• 'Our Goal Is To Keep Getting Better And Raising The Bar': Eric Tulsky On Opening Day Of Free Agency
• Carlina Hurricanes Acquire Goaltender Cayden Primeau From Montreal Canadiens
• Carolina Hurricanes 2025 Development Camp Gets Underway
• Hurricanes Lock Up Standout Rookie On Max-Term Deal
• Hurricanes Ink Russian Netminder To One-Year Deal
• Carolina Hurricanes Extend Qualifying Offers To RFAs; Three To Become UFAs
Stay updated with the most interesting Carolina Hurricanes stories, analysis, breaking news and more! Tap the star to add us to your favorites on Google News to never miss a story.
Read the full article here
