Canes Sign Aleksi Heimosalmi to Entry-Level Contract

RALEIGH, NC - Don Waddell, President and General Manager of the National Hockey League's Carolina Hurricanes, today announced that the team has signed defenseman Aleksi Heimosalmi to a three-year, entry-level contract. At the NHL level, the deal will pay Heimosalmi $750,000 in 2021-22 and 2022-23 and $775,000 in 2023-24. The deal will pay Heimosalmi $80,000 at the American Hockey League (AHL) level for all three seasons, and he will receive a signing bonus of $277,500.

"Aleksi is a highly skilled, two-way defenseman," said Waddell. "We're excited for him to take the next steps in his development."
Heimosalmi, 18, tallied 21 points (4g, 17a) in 35 games with Assat's junior team in Finland's top junior league in 2020-21. The 5'11", 170-pound defenseman ranked first in goals, assists and points among the team's blueliners while serving as an alternate captain. The Pori, Finland, native was named Best Defenseman at the 2021 IIHF Under-18 World Championship after ranking tied for second in goals (2), third in assists (6) and tied for first in points (8) among defensemen at the tournament. Heimosalmi also represented Finland at the 2019 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge, earning one assists in five games. He was selected by the Hurricanes in the second round, 44th overall, of the 2021 NHL Draft.