- The Carolina Hurricanes have hired Daniel Bochner as a development coach, according to a team release. The 38-year-old has spent the last five seasons on staff with the KHL’s SKA St. Petersburg in a player development role, graduating to an assistant coach job in 2020-21. Born in Toronto, the former pro defenseman carries Israeli nationality and represented them at multiple low-level World Championship tournaments throughout the 2000s.
Hurricanes Rumors
Carolina Hurricanes Ink Nick Shore To A PTO
The Carolina Hurricanes have added another PTO to their upcoming training camp as the club has announced that they’ve inked forward Nick Shore to a PTO. Shore last dressed in an NHL game back in 2019-20 when he split the season between the Winnipeg Jets and Toronto Maple Leafs. Shore scored three goals and three assists that season in 63 games and hasn’t found an NHL job since.
Shore was on a point-a-game pace in the AHL when he was promoted to the NHL and began his career with the Los Angeles Kings. Unfortunately for the Denver, Colorado native, his offensive success in the AHL didn’t translate to the big leagues and Shore was in a constant struggle to crack 15 points a season.
In 2017-18 Shore posted a career-high 19 points in 64 games split between the Kings, the Ottawa Senators, and the Calgary Flames. During that year Shore was packaged with Marián Gáborík and shipped to Ottawa in return for Dion Phaneuf and Nate Thompson. Then 12 days later was flipped to the Flames for a seventh-round pick. He went unsigned through that summer and eventually signed in the KHL.
Shore would then take one more shot in the NHL signing with the Maple Leafs in 2019, but in that final NHL season, he struggled to find a role and find the scoresheet. His play overseas saw better offensive numbers as last year Shore spent 25 games with HV71 of the SHL and had five goals and 13 assists while going +7.
The 30-year-old will be in tough to crack the Hurricanes lineup as he will be battling against Carolina’s depth and their prospects who will be hungry to prove their worth at training camp. The Canes don’t have the best prospect pipeline, but it certainly isn’t without solid forward prospects and Shore will have to prove he can provide enough to the club in order to block a younger player from playing in the NHL.
Carolina Hurricanes Extend PTOs To Cory Conacher, Brendan Perlini
The Carolina Hurricanes have added forwards Cory Conacher and Brendan Perlini to their training camp roster on PTOs, per an announcement by team reporter Walt Ruff late last night.
Conacher does have seven seasons of NHL experience but hasn’t suited up in the world’s top league since appearing in four games in 2019-20 for the Tampa Bay Lightning. Now 33 years old, the 5-foot-9 Conacher is far removed from his breakout rookie season in 2012-13 when he recorded 11 goals and 18 assists for 29 points in 47 games split between the Lightning and Ottawa Senators. He was never able to produce near that clip again in the NHL, and while he’s had some successful stints in the minors and overseas, he simply hasn’t been able to translate his strong AHL numbers to the show.
He’s unlikely to unseat anyone for a spot on the Hurricanes’ full-time roster, but he is looking to land an NHL contract in the hopes of earning a call-up at some point throughout the season and playing an impactful depth role, much like Mackenzie MacEachern and Stefan Noesen have done for the ’Canes in recent memory. There is a significant complicating factor here, however. Both Conacher and Perlini are already under AHL contract next season with the Chicago Wolves, the Hurricanes’ former affiliate who’s opted to operate independently in 2023-24. Wolves general manager Wendell Young has stated publically that the Wolves aren’t likely to accept any players from the Hurricanes on loan after their affiliation agreement lapsed, meaning signing an NHL deal would force Conacher and Perlini to play where the Hurricanes can find a home for them with another AHL squad on loan.
Conacher has put up 75 points in 193 career NHL games and 340 points in 371 career AHL games since turning pro in 2011. He played just 17 games last season with the Belleville Senators and Charlotte Checkers, recording four goals and ten points.
Perlini does have more NHL experience under his belt at 262 games but has suited up in just five seasons, as the 2014 12th overall pick of the Arizona Coyotes has fallen out of a full-time NHL role over the past few seasons. He spent the 2022-23 campaign with AHL Chicago without an NHL deal, playing alongside Hurricanes prospects and recording ten goals and 15 points in just 26 games due to injury. He last suited up in the NHL for the Edmonton Oilers in 2021-22, averaging just 8:22 per game and recording four goals and one assist. It’s not the path most envisioned for Perlini after he opened his NHL career with double-digit goal totals in three straight seasons with the Coyotes and Blackhawks from 2017 to 2019.
Summer Synopsis: Carolina Hurricanes
The Carolina Hurricanes have been a good hockey team for a very long time now. Despite all kinds of regular season success, the current group of Hurricanes haven’t been able to sustain a long playoff run which has resulted in spring disappointment becoming a bit of an annual tradition in Carolina. Last year, through two rounds, the Hurricanes looked poised to be on their way to the Stanley Cup Finals, however, they ran into the white-hot Florida Panthers and were swept in the Eastern Conference Finals. Even the best teams stumble when faced with a hot goaltender, but for the Hurricanes scoring became an issue in the playoffs, as has been the case several times now. Carolina went into this summer with question marks in the crease, as well as on their blue line. They addressed both, however scoring could remain an issue once again for the Hurricanes as they head into another cup or bust season.
Draft
1-30: F Bradly Nadeau, Penticton (BCHL)
2-62: F Felix Unger Sorum, Leksands (Sweden U20)
3-94: F Jayden Perron, Chicago (USHL)
4-100: F Alexander Rykov, Chelmet Chelyabinksk (VHL)
4-126: F Stanislov Yaravoy, Vityaz (KHL)
5-139: D Charles-Alexis Legault, Quinnipiac (NCAA)
5-158: G Ruslan Khazheyev, Chelyabinsk (MHL)
6-163: F Timur Mukhanov, Omskie Krylia (MHL)
6-190: F Michael Emerson, Chicago (USHL)
7-222: G Yegor Velmakin, Proton Novovoronezh (NMHL)
Carolina opted to hang onto their first round pick this past year rather than moving it for trade deadline help or in a potential Erik Karlsson trade. It was an interesting move given the timeline that they are currently on. Nadeau was one of the analytical darlings of the 2023 NHL entry draft and is a pure scorer. He is slightly undersized; however, he will have time to pack on size as he is committed to the University of Maine. Nadeau played Junior A in British Columbia last season, leaving some scouts wishing they could have seen him play in U-18s to assess him against the other top competition in his age bracket.
In the second round of the draft Carolina continued to demonstrate that they wanted to take swings at offensively talented players as they took Felix Unger Sorum. The 18-year-old Norwegian-born winger spent last season in Sweden playing for Leksands and had 10 goals and 46 points in 42 games. Sorum possess incredible hockey sense and projects to be a terrific puck distributor in the future. Carolina’s draft strategy of taking offensively gifted players has paid off in previous drafts and in 2023 they employed much of the same strategy.
Trade Acquisitions
F David Kase (Philadelphia)
Kase was acquired from the Philadelphia Flyers in early August in exchange for C Massimo Rizzo and a 2025 fifth-round draft pick. The 26-year-old hasn’t been overly productive in very limited NHL action thus far as he has just a single goal in seven career games. Kase hasn’t dressed in an NHL game since 2020-21 and has spent the past two seasons in Czechia where he has been somewhat productive posting 10 goals and 27 assists in 68 games. Kase is still under contract with HC Litvinov for this upcoming season, making Carolina’s acquisition of him a bit curious given their logjam at forward and his lack of offensive punch.
UFA Signings
D Nathan Beaulieu (PTO)
F Michael Bunting (three years, $13.5MM)
D Tony DeAngelo (one year, $1.675MM)
D Caleb Jones (one years, $775K)
F Brendan Lemieux (one year, $800K)
D Dmitry Orlov (two years, $15.5MM)
Orlov was the prized defenseman of free agency and wound up opting for a short-term lucrative deal with the Hurricanes that leaves the possibility of cashing in once again in two seasons when the cap is expected to rise significantly. Orlov also gave himself an opportunity to take two runs at the Stanley Cup with a team that is sure to remain a contender through the duration of his two-year deal. The downside for the 32-year-old is the risk of injury or a drop-in play that could substantially impact his earning ability once his current pact with Carolina expires. From Carolina’s perspective,
they get a terrific defenseman that can plug in on either of their top two pairings on the backend. Carolina already boasted one of the best defensive groups in the league and Orlov is sure to add to that distinction.
Bunting bolstered his free agent stock after a pair of terrific offensive seasons with the Toronto Maple Leafs, however he was likely hoping to cash in on a longer-term deal but may not have found the kind of money he was looking for. He settled on a three-year deal and will have every opportunity to continue to play with skilled players in Carolina. Something he has done a very good job of in Toronto. A suspension in the playoffs for a hit on Erik Cernak likely hurt his free agent stock a little bit as it further added to a reputation that was starting to develop around the league. Bunting had a few questionable plays last season including run-ins with the referees, taking bad penalties and some embellished falls. This may have hurt his market as some people in the media have speculated that Bunting has run out of runway with the NHL head office.
Tony DeAngelo resurrected his career last year with the Hurricanes before they dealt him to the Flyers for three draft picks. He was a model citizen in Carolina and fit in well with their offensive and defensive schemes. Never known to be defensively adept, DeAngelo managed to avoid a lot of his defensive shortcomings while a member of Carolina. However, once he was moved to Philadelphia, a lot of his defensive miscues began to re-emerge, and the 27-year-old once again found himself drowning in his own defensive zone. Now, he is back in Carolina and there is no reason to think he won’t be able to settle back in as a solid option for the Hurricanes. Carolina can shelter the Sewell, New Jersey native and allow him to focus more on his offensive side of the game. Something he excels in.
RFA Re-Signings
D Dylan Coghlan (one year, $850K)
A year ago, Coghlan was a sweetener when the Vegas Golden Knights traded, he and Max Pacioretty to the Carolina Hurricanes for future considerations. It was a cap dump and it allowed Vegas to make room for other signings, and Carolina received two players for what essentially amounted to nothing. Pacioretty has since moved on to Washington, but Coghlan remains in Carolina. After going undrafted out of the WHL, Coghlan wound up in the AHL where he posted two solid offensive seasons with the Chicago Wolves before joining the Golden Knights. While he has never been able to carry his offensive production from the minors into the NHL, he has shown some glimpses while with Vegas and will now be given another look by Carolina.
Coghlan struggled in his first season with the Hurricanes as he posted just three assists in 17 NHL games, however, he continued to put up good offensive numbers in the AHL, albeit in limited action. At just 25 years of age, it is quite possible that Coghlan has more to give, but with the depth that Carolina has at the position, it’s possible that he may find himself on the outside looking in when the season begins.
Key Departures
F Max Pacioretty (Washington, one year, $2MM)
G Zach Sawchenko (Vancouver)*
D William Lagesson (Toronto)*
D Max Lajoie (Toronto)*
D Shayne Gostisbehere (Detroit, one year, $4.125MM)
F Mackenzie MacEachern (St. Louis)
D Calvin de Haan (Tampa Bay, one year, $775K)
F Ondrej Kase (HC Litvinov)
D Cavan Fitzgerald (Chicago Wolves, AHL)
F Malte Strömwall (Frolunda)
Up front, Pacioretty is the most notable loss, however, given how often he was injured last season, he is more of a never was. The Hurricanes obtained Pacioretty for a song, and unfortunately, he was never able to stay in the lineup for a sustained period of time. Pacioretty had three goals in five games with Carolina including two goals in his second game, but a series of unfortunate injuries led to a lost season for the 34-year-old. A reunion seemed possible, but both the Hurricanes and Pacioretty opted to move in different directions.
Kase is another loss to the Hurricanes offense but much like Pacioretty he too was injured for almost the entire season. Kase was coming off a decent season in Toronto after posting 14 goals and 13 assists in 50 games and seemed like a good bet to provide middle six minutes for the Hurricanes. But injuries kept him from getting into the lineup and Kase has now elected to return home to play.
Carolina had equally as much turnover on the back end as they lost two regulars in Gostisbehere and de Haan. Gostisbehere was a trade deadline acquisition from Arizona and was a good pickup at the time as he added some offensive punch to their backend in a sheltered role. However, given that the club signed Orlov, Gostisbehere was effectively replaced by a much better player, albeit at a much high cap number.
Calvin de Haan looked like a blueliner on the rise back in his New York Islanders days as he posted several solid seasons as a stay-at-home defenceman that could chip in on offense occasionally. As his career has gone on, he has seen his offense dry up and he has struggled at times to keep up with the pace of the NHL. He is still an NHL defenseman, but at this point in his career, he is best served as a seventh defenseman. He did find NHL work with Tampa Bay and will likely be counted on to serve as a 6-7 defenseman.
Lagesson and Lajoie both left Carolina for two-way deals with Toronto and both will most likely find themselves in the AHL playing for the Marlies. The story is the same for goaltender Sawchenko who departed Carolina for Vancouver and will most likely see time as a third or fourth option in the crease.
Salary Cap Outlook
Few teams have the ability to lose players in free agency and immediately replace them internally. Carolina has been able to do it over the past few years and may need to do it again next summer as they may face a cap crunch with Brett Pesce, Brady Skjei, Seth Jarvis and Teuvo Teravainen due new contracts. Carolina has almost $56MM committed to 10 players next season, and although they have over $30MM in cap space for next year, that money will dry up quickly when Carolina is locking up gifted free agents.
Key Questions
Can Carolina Score: The Hurricanes have a lot of offensively gifted players, but can they score when it matters the most? Carolina couldn’t solve Sergei Bobrovsky in last year’s playoffs, and it wasn’t the first time they’ve had that issue. Carolina has done little this offseason to bring in more offense, despite this being a fatal flaw. Can they address this in season, or do they even see this as a problem? DeAngelo and Orlov will provide more offense from the backend, and maybe it will be enough. Time will tell.
Will Pesce Re-sign? The Hurricanes have several high profiles pending free agents and none bigger than Pesce, who is a homegrown, beloved, rock-solid defender for the Canes. Defensemen are always in demand, particularly those who shoot right and provide a rare combination of size, skill, grit, and playmaking. There has been no shortage of trade speculation involving Pesce and it reached a point where a trade seemed inevitable, but it never materialized. It could still happen in season as Carolina can opt to move Pesce to shore up other parts of their lineup, or maybe they wait for a different kind of trade. The Hurricanes have options and have nearly eight months to decide what they want to do with the pending free agents on the backend.
Who Will Emerge In Net? Carolina opted to bring back the same goalie trio that they employed last season. The team re-signed pending free agents Antti Raanta and Frederik Andersen and are now committed to run it back again with the same goalie pairing. This isn’t a knock on either goalie as they’ve both had terrific careers, but it has felt for quite a while like the Hurricanes were just a goalie away from being a true Stanley Cup contender. But given the low cost of the tandem and their track records of regular season success, it’s hard to argue with rolling in back rather than opting to roll the dice in the trade market or unrestricted free agency. The Canes do have Pyotr Kochetkov waiting in the wings should either veteran netminder falter, and given the youngster’s track record he could very well be the goalie of the future in Carolina.
Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Hurricanes Notes: Kochetkov, AHL Loans, Chicago
With the Hurricanes not having a dedicated AHL affiliate this season, Cory Lavalette suggested in a recent mailbag piece for The Athletic (subscription link) that they might be inclined to carry three goalies on the NHL roster this coming season. While Pyotr Kochetkov is now in the first season of a four-year, $8MM contract, the expectation was that they’d take advantage of his waiver exemption to get him some regular action in the minors. But if they loan the 24-year-old to another team’s affiliate, there’s no guarantee Kochetkov would get any sort of consistent minutes as the other team would likely be more interested in developing their own prospect. Accordingly, Lavalette wonders if Kochetkov’s best path to AHL minutes would be in the form of short-term loans for a game or two to keep him fresh. With both Antti Raanta and Frederik Andersen having injury issues in the past, it’s quite possible that Kochetkov could still see some meaningful games with the Hurricanes this season.
More from Carolina:
- Also from Lavalette’s piece, GM Don Waddell indicated that they have found a place for most of their prospects to play this season although they’re still looking for a spot for a few of them. Carolina has loaned several prospects overseas already while their other AHL-bound players are likely to be spread across quite a few other teams. That will be the case for any ECHL-bound players as well as their affiliate from last season in Norfolk is now aligned with Winnipeg.
- One AHL team that doesn’t appear likely to house any Hurricanes prospects is their former affiliate in Chicago. Wolves GM Wendell Young told Tony Androckitis of Inside AHL Hockey that while they discussed the possibility of still using some of their prospects, Carolina ultimately pulled the plug on that idea. Young stated that Carolina’s desire to focus on prospect development over winning was the key driver in Chicago’s decision to operate as an independent franchise this season.
Carolina Hurricanes Sign Nathan Beaulieu To PTO
The Carolina Hurricanes have signed defenseman Nathan Beaulieu to a professional tryout, according to team reporter Walt Ruff. Beaulieu will attend Hurricanes training camp next month with the hopes of earning an NHL contract and suiting up for a 12th straight season.
Beaulieu, 30, landed a one-year, $850K contract with the Anaheim Ducks last season after appearing at their training camp on a PTO. He was used sparingly in a depth role, leading to naturally poor results on one of the worst defensive teams of the salary cap era. Averaging 15:14 per game, the journeyman defender added just four assists in 52 games and posted a -23 rating, the worst of his career. He was also briefly assigned to the minors for the first time in eight years, albeit for four games.
He’ll need to work much harder to land a contract this time around unless he’s willing to take a two-way deal and be likely assigned to the minors – which, unfortunately, won’t be a predictable career move thanks to the Hurricanes’ lack of a dedicated AHL affiliate for next season. At best, Beaulieu would slot ninth on the team’s defense depth chart as things stand. After their acquisitions of Anthony DeAngelo and Dmitry Orlov this offseason, a pair of capable everyday NHL defenders, Jalen Chatfield and Caleb Jones, are currently slated for press box roles. There’s also Dylan Coghlan, who played just 17 games last season but is signed to a one-way contract in 2023-24 and would require waivers to be assigned to the AHL.
It’s been a while since Beaulieu has offered positive value defensively, posting a relative Corsi For in the negatives at even strength in four consecutive seasons. Couple that with the fact that he hasn’t scored a goal in three and a half years (his last one was in February 2020 as a member of the Winnipeg Jets), and it’s apparent why he’s been used solely in a depth role over the past handful of campaigns.
He would add some beef to the Hurricanes blueline at 6-foot-2 and 200 pounds, along with a physical edge, although Chatfield carries a similar demeanor with much better defensive results. Ruff also noted a potential reason for bringing Beaulieu in is having enough defensemen healthy for the Hurricanes’ slate of split-squad preseason games on September 29.
Poll: Which Team Will Acquire Brett Pesce?
Now that the trade market for defensemen has been set after the blockbuster trade landing defending Norris Trophy winner, Erik Karlsson, with the Pittsburgh Penguins, one of the most oft-rumored names on the market headed into next season is Brett Pesce of the Carolina Hurricanes. Already carrying a rather deep defensive core, the Hurricanes added to it even more, bringing in Dmitry Orlov, Anthony DeAngelo, and Caleb Jones via free agency this summer.
For the 2023-24 NHL season, Pesce will be starting his ninth in Carolina, becoming one of the mainstays on their blue line during the team’s rise to stardom in recent years. However, with players such as Teuvo Teravainen, Martin Necas, and more than half their defensemen needing contracts beyond this season, the Hurricanes dollar may be better spent somewhere else.
In June, Cory Lavalette of The Athletic theorized that Pesce’s next contract would be in the eight-year, $52MM ($6.5MM) range, which seems fair factoring in comparable players and Pesce’s age. This is not a massive increase on Pesce’s current $4.025MM AAV, but with an extension already kicking in for Sebastian Aho next summer, Carolina will need all the wiggle room they can to keep their other talent.
In analyzing the market for Pesce, it would be wise to start with the two teams that reportedly missed out on Karlsson. Both the Toronto Maple Leafs and Seattle Kraken had an interest in Karlsson, and both could use some longer-term answers to the right side of their blue lines. Toronto currently has John Klingberg and T.J. Brodie at the top of their hierarchy on the right side and should consider Pesce to be an improvement to both of those players. Similarly, in Seattle, Pesce would be a solid long-term answer on the right side once Justin Schultz’s contract comes to an end next summer.
Even if it is not in the Hurricanes’ best interest to hold onto Pesce long-term, it seems to be the most appropriate option to hold onto him for the entirety of next season, given the team’s popularity as a Stanley Cup favorite. Much like how the New Jersey Devils handled the pending unrestricted free agency of Damon Severson, the team may be better spent employing Pesce for the upcoming season and recouping some value for him via a sign-and-trade before July 1, 2024.
Click here to vote if you can’t access the poll above.
Update On This Year’s August 15 Free Agents
Most NHL free agent business is dealt with in the early summer months. There is one important date later each year, however. August 15 marks the date when NHL teams lose their exclusive signing rights to most college-drafted players if they’ve graduated (or completed without graduating) college and are not yet signed to an entry-level contract.
Earlier this month, we published a list of players slated to hit the UFA market yesterday if not signed to an ELC within the coming days. However, the guidelines the NHL uses to determine a college graduate are some of the most complex sets of rules relating to contractual obligations in pro sports. That means it’s often impossible to glean a full list of players whose rights have expired (or not expired) until after the August 15 deadline has passed.
This year was no different, as CapFriendly issued multiple updates today on their X account regarding the list of August 15 free agents they’d made public earlier in the month. Three players who were slated to expire actually remained on their team’s reserve list: Calgary Flames 2018 fourth-round pick F Demetrios Koumontzis, Ottawa Senators 2018 seventh-round pick F Jakov Novak, and Senators 2018 second-round pick D Jonny Tychonick.
On the flip side, 12 players they expected to remain on teams’ reserve lists hit the free-agent market yesterday. With that in mind, we have a revised, accurate list of players who became unrestricted free agents yesterday. Asterisked players were not originally expected to come off their team’s reserve list.
Anaheim Ducks
*F Trevor Janicke (2019 fifth round, 132nd overall)
Arizona Coyotes
F John Farinacci (2019 third round, 76th overall)
*F Anthony Romano (2019 sixth round, 176th overall)
Boston Bruins
*D Dustyn McFaul (2018 sixth round, 181st overall)
Calgary Flames
*F Joshua Nodler (2019 fifth round, 150th overall)
Carolina Hurricanes
F Kevin Wall (2019 sixth round, 181st overall)
Chicago Blackhawks
F Jake Wise (2018 third round, 69th overall)
Colorado Avalanche
*F Matt Stienburg (2019 third round, 63rd overall)
Columbus Blue Jackets
D Robbie Stucker (2017 seventh round, 210th overall)
Detroit Red Wings
F Robert Mastrosimone (2019 second round, 54th overall)
*F Ethan Phillips (2019 fourth round, 97th overall)
Edmonton Oilers
F Skyler Brind’Amour (2017 sixth round, 177th overall)
Minnesota Wild
*D Marshall Warren (2019 sixth round, 166th overall)
New Jersey Devils
*D Case McCarthy (2019 fourth round, 118th overall)
*F Patrick Moynihan (2019 sixth round, 158th overall)
New York Islanders
D Christian Krygier (2018 seventh round, 196th overall)
F Jacob Pivonka (2018 fourth round, 103rd overall)
New York Rangers
*F Eric Ciccolini (2019 seventh round, 205th overall)
*F Riley Hughes (2018 seventh round, 216th overall)
Ottawa Senators
*F Luke Loheit (2018 seventh round, 194th overall)
Philadelphia Flyers
F Jay O’Brien (2018 first round, 19th overall)
San Jose Sharks
D Arvid Henrikson (2016 seventh round, 187th overall) Originally drafted by the Montreal Canadiens
Toronto Maple Leafs
D Ryan O’Connell (2017 seventh round, 203rd overall)
Winnipeg Jets
G Jared Moe (2018 sixth round, 184th overall)
Of the list above, Krygier and Pivonka are remaining in the Islanders organization on confirmed AHL contracts for 2023-24, although they remain eligible to sign with another NHL team should one come calling. All others are either returning to school for 2023-24, have contracts signed in other leagues, or are not signed for next season.
Notably, this is the official confirmation that the Flyers’ exclusive signing rights of O’Brien have lapsed. As compensation for not signing a first-round pick to their entry-level contract, the Flyers will receive a compensatory second-round pick from the league in the 2024 NHL Draft.
August Free Agency Update: Metropolitan Division
As even most mid-tier free agents are now off the market, it’s a good time to look at how each team has fared on the free agent market this offseason. We’re publishing a list of one-way signings (i.e., likelier to start the season on the NHL roster) by team, per division, to keep you updated on NHL player movement since the new league year began on July 1.
Asterisked players denote a restricted free agent. Double-asterisked players denote the contract starts in the 2024-25 season. Next up is the Metropolitan Division. You can check out the list of Atlantic Division signings here.
Carolina Hurricanes
**F Sebastian Aho (eight years, $9.75MM cap hit)
D Dmitry Orlov (two years, $7.75MM cap hit)
F Michael Bunting (three years, $4.5MM cap hit)
G Frederik Andersen (two years, $3.4MM cap hit)
F Jesper Fast (two years, $2.4MM cap hit)
D Anthony DeAngelo (one year, $1.675MM cap hit)
G Antti Raanta (one year, $1.5MM cap hit)
*D Dylan Coghlan (one year, $850K cap hit)
F Brendan Lemieux (one year, $800K cap hit)
D Caleb Jones (one year, $775K cap hit)
Columbus Blue Jackets
none
New Jersey Devils
F Michael McLeod (one year, $1.4MM cap hit)
F Nathan Bastian (two years, $1.35MM cap hit)
*D Kevin Bahl (two years, $1.05MM cap hit)
F Tomas Nosek (one year, $1MM cap hit)
New York Islanders
**G Ilya Sorokin (eight years, $8.25MM cap hit)
D Scott Mayfield (seven years, $3.5MM cap hit)
F Pierre Engvall (seven years, $3MM cap hit)
G Semyon Varlamov (four years, 35+ contract, $2.75MM cap hit)
*F Oliver Wahlstrom (one year, $874.1K cap hit)
F Julien Gauthier (two years, $787.5K cap hit)
New York Rangers
*D K’Andre Miller (two years, $3.872MM cap hit)
D Erik Gustafsson (one year, $825K cap hit)
G Jonathan Quick (one year, 35+ contract, $825K cap hit)
F Blake Wheeler (one year, 35+ contract, $800K cap hit)
F Nick Bonino (one year, 35+ contract, $800K cap hit)
F Tyler Pitlick (one year, $787.5K cap hit)
F Riley Nash (two years, $775K cap hit)
Philadelphia Flyers
*F Noah Cates (two years, $2.625MM cap hit)
F Garnet Hathaway (two years, $2.375MM cap hit)
*D Cameron York (two years, $1.6MM cap hit)
**G Samuel Ersson (two years, $1.45MM cap hit)
F Ryan Poehling (one year, $1.4MM cap hit)
D Marc Staal (one year, 35+ contract, $1.1MM cap hit)
Pittsburgh Penguins
G Tristan Jarry (five years, $5.375MM cap hit)
D Ryan Graves (six years, $4.5MM cap hit)
F Lars Eller (two years, $2.45MM cap hit)
F Noel Acciari (three years, $2MM cap hit)
G Alex Nedeljkovic (one year, $1.5MM cap hit)
*F Drew O’Connor (two years, $925K cap hit)
F Matthew Nieto (two years, $900K cap hit)
F Andreas Johnsson (one year, $800K cap hit)
G Magnus Hellberg (one year, $785K cap hit)
D Ryan Shea (one year, $775K cap hit)
F Vinnie Hinostroza (one year, $775K cap hit)
*D Ty Smith (one year, $775K cap hit)
Washington Capitals
**F Tom Wilson (seven years, $6.5MM cap hit)
*D Martin Fehervary (three years, $2.675MM cap hit)
F Max Pacioretty (one year, $2MM cap hit)
F Matthew Phillips (one year, $775K cap hit)
Waddell: Hurricanes In Talks With A Few Teams To Find Places For Their AHL Prospects Next Season
Carolina finds itself without an AHL affiliate for the upcoming season after Chicago opted to become an independent franchise. Speaking with reporters today including Chip Alexander of the Raleigh News and Observer, GM Don Waddell indicated that he is in discussions with a handful of teams about loaning out some of their prospects. The Hurricanes opted to loan several European players overseas for 2023-24, a move that Waddell acknowledged wasn’t ideal but was workable for 2023-24. Waddell hopes that Carolina will once again have its own affiliate for 2024-25 and are looking into potential options but with 32 AHL franchises and Chicago’s desire to be an independent one, one NHL team will be in this situation each season moving forward.