RALEIGH, N.C. - Eric Tulsky, General Manager of the National Hockey League’s Carolina Hurricanes, today announced that the team has agreed to terms with forward Nikolaj Ehlers on a six-year contract. The deal will pay Ehlers an Average Annual Value (AAV) of $8.5 million through the 2030-31 season.
“Nikolaj was the top free agent available on July 1, and we are proud that he’s chosen to make Carolina his home,” said Tulsky. “He’s a highly-skilled winger who can really skate and will fit very well with our forward group.”
Ehlers, 29, completed his 10th NHL season in 2024-25, scoring 24 goals and adding 39 assists (63 points) with a plus-14 rating in 69 regular-season games played for the Winnipeg Jets. The Aalborg, Denmark, native ranked third among Jets skaters in points, fourth in goals and assists and tied for fourth in power-play points (22). Ehlers appeared in eight Stanley Cup playoff games for the Jets, ranking tied for first on the team in goals (5) and tied for third in points (7).
Originally selected by Winnipeg in the first round, ninth overall, at the 2014 NHL Draft, Ehlers has totaled 520 points (225g, 295a) and a plus-106 rating in 674 career NHL regular-season games with the Jets. The 6’0”, 172-pound left wing has scored 20 or more goals in eight of his 10 NHL season, setting his career high with 29 goals during the 2017-18 campaign. Ehlers established career highs in assists (39) and points (64) during the 2016-17 season and was a career-best plus-27 in 2023-24.
Prior to turning professional Ehlers spent two seasons in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League with the Halifax Mooseheads, reaching the 100-point mark in both seasons. In 2013-14, he won the RDS Cup as the QMJHL’s Rookie of the Year and the Mike Bossy Trophy as the QMJHL’s Top Prospect after scoring 49 goals and adding 55 assists (104 points) in 63 games. He was named to the QMJHL First All-Star Team in 2014-15 after totaling 100 points (37g, 63a). Ehlers has represented Denmark internationally in a number of competitions, including the 2015 World U20 Championship, the IIHF World Championships in 2016, 2017, 2022, 2023 and 2025 and Winter Olympic qualifiers in 2016, 2022 and 2024.
