RALEIGH — The Carolina Hurricanes landed arguably the biggest name on the NHL free agency market, signing winger Nikolaj Ehlers to a six-year, $51 million contract Thursday.
Ehlers was drafted by the Jets and played the last decade in Winnipeg, totaling 225 goals and 520 points in 674 regular season games. He had 24 goals and 39 assists for 63 points last season. The 29-year-old Dane, the ninth overall pick in the 2014 NHL Draft, is an eight-time 20-goal scorer and has eclipsed 60 points each of the last two seasons.
“I believe that I will fit in very nicely,” Ehlers said in a video call with reporters Saturday. “And that’s obviously something you look at as well when you try to make a decision.”
The addition of Ehlers — who will cost $8.5 million against the salary cap through the 2029-30 season — adds more firepower on the wings, but Carolina is still looking for an answer behind Sebastian Aho at center. Don’t be surprised if that solution comes internally.
Both Seth Jarvis and Logan Stankoven are natural centers, and while the Hurricanes would ideally have a bigger body down the middle behind Aho, both will likely be given a chance to win the job.
As for Ehlers, Carolina is adding one of hockey’s most dynamic — and overlooked — offensive players. He ranks 12th in 5-on-5 points per 60 minutes over the past six seasons, though injuries have sometimes limited his availability.
The Hurricanes should afford Ehlers more opportunity as well. Ehlers often played second-line minutes in Winnipeg, shoved down the lineup behind Kyle Connor. He should find a home on Aho’s wing and also be a key part of the team’s top power play unit. His ability to carry the puck into the zone, including on the power play, will bring an element Carolina missed after it traded Martin Necas last season.
“I think every player always has a little more,” Ehlers said, “and I’m hoping that maybe a different culture, a different team, playing style will make me a better player.”
His NHL EDGE stats show a player who is above average in all categories, including being one of hockey’s fastest skaters (94th percentile in top speed, 86th percentile in speed bursts over 20 mph) with a blistering shot (93.92-mph hardest shot last year, finishing in the 94th percentile).
Half of his 24 goals last season were scored either in front of the net or in the slot, and that’s also where he created the majority of his shots on goal.
His goals for percentage at 5-on-5 ranked 10th in the NHL among forwards, with the Jets outscoring opponents 38-22 with him on the ice. He has an 11.9% shooting percentage for his career, and he’s had 15 or more even-strength goals in eight of his 10 NHL seasons.
“He is incredibly fast and dynamic with the puck,” Hurricanes GM Eric Tulsky said during the call. “He’ll bring creativity to our game. We have the puck as much as any team in the league, and the more we can turn that into premium scoring chances, the better off we’ll be.
“And Nikolaj is the kind of player who can create scoring chances out of nothing, and that’s the sort of thing that you layer on to what we’ve already built, and it can help take us to the next level.”
Ehlers has not been a huge producer on the power play, but his 22 points last season (6 goals, 16 assists) with Winnipeg were a career high.
He won’t contribute on the penalty kill or at the faceoff dot, but he also won’t spend much time in the penalty box — he had 17 PIMs a season ago and has never had more than 38 in a season in his career.
Ehlers was one of six players from Denmark to play in the NHL last season and will join goaltender Frederik Andersen on the Hurricanes. Both were among the six players named when Denmark released their preliminary Olympic roster last month.
“I love that guy,” Ehlers said when asked about Andersen. “So we are very familiar. I’m excited to play with him. He’s been a great goalie throughout his NHL career. We’ve obviously talked. He called me as soon as he heard the news, and we got the Olympics coming up in February as well.
“So it’ll be a very special year, I think, to have him as well there to help me get integrated as quickly as possible and show me around the city and so on. It will obviously help a lot. So I’m excited. It’s going to be fun to play with another Danish guy.”
