After falling just short of the Stanley Cup Finals last season, the Carolina Hurricanes spent the offseason reloading their roster — and they’re not shy about chasing a championship in 2025.
The Canes finished the 2024 season 47-30-5 before being eliminated in the Eastern Conference Finals by the Florida Panthers. It wasn’t the result the coaches or players wanted, but given the number of preseason changes, it marked a step forward.
Now, head coach Rod Brind’Amour and general manager Eric Tulsky wanted to keep building on the same foundation and put the team in a championship position.
“We have such a great core [group] that didn’t leave, and that’s what this team has been built on,” Brind’Amour said. “They’ve been warriors, and they know what it takes. We have young kids who played in this past series, which is going to help us move forward. They’re a big part of this now, so there’s a lot of optimism regardless of what Eric can do this season.”
The first step was securing their youthful foundation as the Canes handed out two eight-year contract extensions to rookie center Logan Stankoven and right wing Jackson Blake.
Stankoven, whom the Canes acquired on March 7 from the Dallas Stars, recorded 14 goals and 24 assists in the regular season and finished the season tied for second among NHL rookie skaters in game-winning goals. Among rookies in the NHL, Blake was ranked top 10 in goals and points and was first overall in game-winning goals with six, tying the record for most in franchise history as a rookie. Overall, he netted 17 goals and 17 assists during the season.
Other notable contract extensions include left wing Eric Robinson, who signed a four-year deal; left wing Juha Jaaska, who agreed to a two-year contract; and center Tyson Jost, who inked a one-year, two-way contract that includes AHL eligibility.
“Our team is built on three things,” Tulsky said. “We want to defend really well on our own end, we want to create turnovers off the forecheck and we want to create offense once we get the puck back, and I think for all three, there’s room for improvement.”
Of course, not every cornerstone could be kept. After losing defenseman Brent Burns to the Colorado Avalanche and Dmitry Orlov to the San Jose Sharks, the defense was a spot of concern.
In an attempt to strengthen the back line, Tulsky added defenseman K’Andre Miller, a former New York Ranger, through 2033. Miller totaled seven goals and 20 assists in 74 games and sits 10th among defensemen for takeaways. In return, the Rangers received defenseman Scott Morrow, a conditional first-round pick and a second-round pick in the 2026 draft.
Left wing Nikolaj Ehlers was another notable name added to the Canes roster during free agency, signing to a six-year contract with an average annual value of 8.1 million through 2031 to add depth to the front line. The former Jet put up 24 goals and 39 assists in 69 regular-season games, ending with a plus-14 rating.
There were many questions surrounding the spot of goaltender after Frederick Andersen missed countless games because of knee surgery, and being out partially due to a blood clot the prior season. With an unreliable first-string goalie, Tulsky needed to bring in more backup to help second-string Pyotr Kochetkov.
To address this, the Canes signed Cayden Primeau from the Montreal Canadiens through 2026 in exchange for a seventh-round selection in the 2026 draft. The son of former Hurricanes captain Keith Primeau tallied a record of 13-24-7 with a goals-against average of 3.69 and a .884 save percentage in 55 career NHL games from 2019-2025. He won the Mike Richter Award for the top collegiate goalie, among many other awards in his college career.
On the night of the first round of the draft, Tulsky traded the Canes’ first-round pick for Chicago’s second-round pick, 34th overall, Dallas’ second-round pick, 62nd overall, and Chicago’s fifth-round pick in the 2027 draft.
“We have several players we like in this part of the draft,” Tulsky said. “We felt like we could slide down and still get one of the guys we were very high on, and then have an extra pick to hopefully pick up another one of the guys we were looking at.”
The first pick for the Canes came in the second round, 41st overall, selecting goaltender Semyon Frolov. Ranking second among international goaltenders by scouts, he spent the majority of 2024 playing for the MHK Spartak Moskva in Russia. He recorded a 9-2-2 record with a .915 save percentage and 2.05 goals-against average.
Eight picks later, the Canes were on the clock again and selected center Charlie Cerrato. Cerrato, who formerly played with Penn State, marked 42 points, 15 goals, 27 assists and led all Big Ten rookies in goals, assists and points, earning him a spot on the Big Ten All-Freshman Team.
Tulsky had to make five more selections before the night was over. He selected three more forwards and two defensive players.
“Over the last five years, no team in the league has more regular-season points than us,” Tulsky said. “Only two teams, Florida and Edmonton, have more postseason wins than we do. What an honor to be on a team where you get to the final four and feel like you came up short. I love that we are where we are and we’re going to keep pushing to get to where we want to go.”
With a mix of proven veterans, emerging stars and fresh blood from the draft, the Hurricanes believe the pieces are in place. Now it’s about turning all those moves into wins — starting in the preseason on Sept. 22 against Tampa Bay.
