Ehlers says his speed, style will 'fit in very nicely' with Hurricanes

Nikolaj Ehlers wanted to make sure the fit was right and spent a lot of time making phone calls before signing a six-year, $51 million contract with the Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday, with an average annual value of $8.5 million.

The 29-year-old forward put in his due diligence.

“Let me put it this way, I talked to a lot of people,” Ehlers said Saturday. “Obviously the decision came a little bit later than people thought, and the only reason for that was to set myself up in the best way possible to make the right decision.”

As an unrestricted free agent, Ehlers was eligible to sign on the first day of NHL free agency Tuesday but said he needed the time to assess the offer from the Hurricanes. He also wanted to research the organization and the city of Raleigh, North Carolina.

“I wasn’t trying to drag it out and make people wait, it was just what I needed to be comfortable in the decision making,” Ehlers said. “So yes, I talked to a lot of people and obviously tried to take in all the information and all the different impressions. It was a stressful, busy, but exciting time; a lot of time on my phone, let’s put it that way.”

In the end, Ehlers came to the conclusion he will mesh well with Carolina’s style of play after he had 63 points (24 goals, 39 assists) in 69 games with the Winnipeg Jets last season and seven points (five goals, two assists) in eight Stanley Cup Playoff games.

“The stress game that Carolina plays when they don’t have the puck, trying to get the puck back as quick as possible, I think with my speed I’m able to do that,” Ehlers said. “I think with my speed, I can create a lot of room for the other guys as well, and I believe that I will fit in very nicely. That’s obviously something you look at as well when you try to make a decision. I talked to (Hurricanes coach) Rod (Brind’Amour) and we had kind of the same vision how things got to go. The talks that I had with the people in the 'Canes organization is something that really excited me.”

Selected by Winnipeg with the No. 9 pick in the 2014 NHL Draft, Ehlers has 520 points (225 goals, 295 assists) in 674 regular-season games and 21 points (nine goals, 12 assists) in 45 playoff games. He was also was one of the first six players named to Denmark's team for the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026, a group that also includes Hurricanes goalie Frederik Andersen.

Reuniting with Andersen was another factor in Ehlers choosing Carolina.

“I love that guy,” Ehlers said. “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.

“We have 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 will obviously help a lot. I’m excited it’s going to be fun to play with another Danish guy.”

Ehlers was the highest-scoring forward available on the free agent market and Carolina was aggressive in pursuing him. The Hurricanes (47-30-5) finished second in the Metropolitan Division last season and lost to the Florida Panthers in five games in the Eastern Conference Final.

Carolina has qualified for the playoffs for seven consecutive seasons and advanced to the conference final three times in that span; it also did so in 2019 and 2023.

“He had a lot of teams interested in him. He’s a great player,” Hurricanes general manager Eric Tulsky said. “I think in the end, if he just wanted the most money, he could have gotten more for sure. My understanding was that he was looking for a place that felt like the right fit where he’d be happy and have a chance to win, and it turns into a recruiting pitch then.

"It’s a personal decision for him, what feels right to him. All we can do is present the information we have about our team and help him understand why we think he would enjoy it here and wait for his decision.”

Ehlers said it was not easy to leave Winnipeg after playing his first 10 NHL seasons with the Jets, but said he was looking for a new challenge and that he believes the move to Carolina will help him continue to grow as a player.

“I think every player always has a little more and I’m hoping that maybe a different culture, maybe a different team and playing style will make me a better player,” Ehlers said. “I think I definitely could have done that in Winnipeg as well in some way, but this was more the overall feeling. I think there’s a lot of ways I can still improve as a player and as a person, and I’m excited to see how it works out.”

Ehlers said he will have fond memories of his time in Winnipeg and thanked executive chairman and governor Mark Chipman, general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff and coach Scott Arniel personally.

“I talked to those three guys yesterday. It was very emotional,” Ehlers said. “I told them why I made the decision I made and they obviously respected it and were happy for me. At the same time, I’ve been there for 10 years. It was very emotional, I love the organization, I’ll always hold the city of Winnipeg very close to my heart. It’s a place I’ve lived the longest my whole life.

“For me it was more about trying something new and challenging myself, getting out and see different things, a different culture. That’s what I wanted to do.”