The Carolina Hurricanes scooped up the last star player remaining on the free-agent market on Thursday, inking winger <a href="https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/news/carolina-hurricanes-sign-nikolaj-ehlers-six-year-contract-nhl-winnipeg">Nikolaj Ehlers</a> to a six-year contract worth $8.5 million annually.

With the likes of Mitch Marner, Sam Bennett, and others reaching extensions before July 1, Ehlers was the biggest name available this week for teams seeking an upgrade offensively. The 29-year-old scored 24 goals and 63 points over 69 games for the Winnipeg Jets in 2024-25 and added seven points in eight playoff games.
<blockquote>&#8220;Nikolaj was the top free agent available on July 1, and we are proud that he&#8217;s chosen to make Carolina his home,&#8221; Carolina GM Eric Tulsky said in a statement. &#8220;He&#8217;s a highly-skilled winger who can really skate and will fit very well with our forward group.&#8221;</blockquote>
Adding Ehlers along with K&#8217;Andre Miller, who Carolina acquired earlier this off-season in a trade with the New York Rangers, is a solid off-season result after being unable to lock down Mikko Rantanen to an extension during the regular season.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
The Hurricanes started with an expiring Martin Nečas contract, went through the Mikko Rantanen saga, and have emerged from it with Logan Stankoven, K’Andre Miller and Nikolaj Ehlers for the next 6+ years. Netted a 1st round pick in the process too.
Absolute wizardry from Tulsky.
&mdash; Alex Ohári 🔴⚫️ (@FutureCanes) <a href="https://twitter.com/FutureCanes/status/1940849684194775509?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 3, 2025</a></blockquote>
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Selected with the ninth overall pick in the 2014 draft, Ehlers has spent his 10-year NHL career with <a href="https://puckpedia.com/team/winnipeg-jets">Winnipeg</a>. He made his debut in 2015-16 and scored 225 goals and racked up 520 points over 674 games for the Jets.
<blockquote>“From first-round pick to the highest-scoring Danish player in NHL history, and all the countless memories in between. Thank you for everything, Fly. All the best in Carolina,” the Jets said in a social media post shortly after the signing was announced.</blockquote>
The Jets signed <a href="https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/news/winnipeg-jets-sign-gustav-nyquist-one-year-million-contract">Gustav Nyquist</a> to a one-year, $3.25 million contract not long before Ehlers&#8217; deal with Carolina was announced, giving the team an inexpensive winger to play in their top-six forward group. Winnipeg&#8217;s biggest move of the off-season came before July 1 when it was reported that they were adding <a href="https://oilersnation.com/news/nhl-notebook-winnipeg-jets-sign-jonathan-toews">three-time Stanley Cup winner Jonathan Toews</a>, who&#8217;s making a return to the NHL after two seasons away from the game.
<h2>Brent Burns inks one-year deal with Avalanche</h2>
With K&#8217;Andre Miller in the fold, the Hurricanes opted to move on from veteran defender Brent Burns, and the 40-year-old defender inked a one-year deal with the Colorado Avalanche.
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Set to return for a 22nd season and doing so for a new team via signing as an unrestricted free agent with the <a href="https://twitter.com/Avalanche?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Avalanche</a> last night, Brent Burns has already logged more career NHL campaigns than all but 6 defencemen on this list (one he&#39;ll tie for 5th on when 2025-26 commences) <a href="https://t.co/L5g4c0PgNe">pic.twitter.com/L5g4c0PgNe</a>
&mdash; StatsCentre (@StatsCentre) <a href="https://twitter.com/StatsCentre/status/1940896971470094425?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 3, 2025</a></blockquote>
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Burns was a solid defender for the Hurricanes last season, registering six goals and 23 assists over 82 games while averaging nearly 21 minutes per night. He brings unmatched durability and experience, entering his 22nd NHL season with a remarkable 925 consecutive games played, the fourth‑longest ironman streak in league history. Over 1,497 career games, Burns has put up 910 points, good for eighth among defensemen all‑time.
<h2>Sharks sign Dmitry Orlov, claim Nick Leddy off waivers</h2>
The rebuilding Sharks added more veteran depth to their blueline this week. After signing former Edmonton Oilers defender <a href="https://oilersnation.com/news/san-jose-sharks-sign-former-edmonton-oilers-defenceman-john-klingberg">John Klingberg</a> on July 1, San Jose inked <a href="https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/news/san-jose-sharks-sign-dmitry-orlov-claim-nick-leddy-waivers-nhl-free-agency-2025">Dmitry Orlov</a> to a two-year deal worth $6.5 million annually. They also grabbed Nick Leddy off waivers from the St. Louis Blues.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
The Sharks are now over the salary cap floor after signing Dmitry Orlov and claiming Nick Leddy off waivers.
&mdash; David Pagnotta (@TheFourthPeriod) <a href="https://twitter.com/TheFourthPeriod/status/1940804510521459092?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 3, 2025</a></blockquote>
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The Sharks have finished dead last in the league in back-to-back seasons. They&#8217;ve netted Macklin Celebrini, Will Smith, and Michael Misa, with top picks in the draft, and the team is now looking to take a step forward. Adding Orlov, Klingberg, and Leddy should help improve the defence of a team that finished 32nd with 310 goals against last years.
<h2>Players Remaining on <a href="https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/news/top-remaining-2025-nhl-free-agents-ufas-still-available">Daily Faceoff&#8217;s Top UFAs list</a>:</h2>
<ul>
<li>No. 9: Jack Roslovic (C)</li>
<li>No. 15: Matt Grzelcyk (D)</li>
<li>No. 16: Max Pacioretty (W)</li>
<li>No. 21: Viktor Olofsson (W) </li>
<li>No. 36: Jeff Skinner (W)</li>
<li>No. 38: Luke Kunin (W)</li>
<li>No. 39: Ilya Samsonov (G) </li>
<li>No. 46: Evgeny Kuznetsov (C)</li>
<li>No. 47: Michael Carcone (W)</li>
<li>No. 50: Joel Kiviranta (W)</li>
<li>No. 52: Luke Glendening (C)</li>
<li>No. 55: Alexandar Georgiev (G) </li>
<li>No. 58: Craig Smith (W)</li>
<li>No. 60: Robby Fabbri (W) </li>
<li>No. 63: Klim Kostin (W) </li>
<li>No. 64: Jakub Lauko (w)</li>
<li>No. 65: Jan Rutta (D)</li>
<li>No. 66: TJ Brodie (D)</li>
<li>No. 70: Jon Merrill (D)</li>
<li>No. 71: Nathan Bastian (W)</li>
<li>No. 73: Conor Sheary (W)</li>
<li>No. 74: Daniel Sprong (W)</li>
</ul>

The Carolina Hurricanes scooped up the last star player remaining on the free-agent market on Thursday, inking winger <a href="https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/news/carolina-hurricanes-sign-nikolaj-ehlers-six-year-contract-nhl-winnipeg">Nikolaj Ehlers</a> to a six-year contract worth $8.5 million annually.



With the likes of Mitch Marner, Sam Bennett, and others reaching extensions before July 1, Ehlers was the biggest name available this week for teams seeking an upgrade offensively. The 29-year-old scored 24 goals and 63 points over 69 games for the Winnipeg Jets in 2024-25 and added seven points in eight playoff games.
<blockquote>"Nikolaj was the top free agent available on July 1, and we are proud that he's chosen to make Carolina his home," Carolina GM Eric Tulsky said in a statement. "He's a highly-skilled winger who can really skate and will fit very well with our forward group."</blockquote>
Adding Ehlers along with K'Andre Miller, who Carolina acquired earlier this off-season in a trade with the New York Rangers, is a solid off-season result after being unable to lock down Mikko Rantanen to an extension during the regular season.

https://twitter.com/FutureCanes/status/1940849684194775509

Selected with the ninth overall pick in the 2014 draft, Ehlers has spent his 10-year NHL career with <a href="https://puckpedia.com/team/winnipeg-jets">Winnipeg</a>. He made his debut in 2015-16 and scored 225 goals and racked up 520 points over 674 games for the Jets.
<blockquote>“From first-round pick to the highest-scoring Danish player in NHL history, and all the countless memories in between. Thank you for everything, Fly. All the best in Carolina,” the Jets said in a social media post shortly after the signing was announced.</blockquote>
The Jets signed <a href="https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/news/winnipeg-jets-sign-gustav-nyquist-one-year-million-contract">Gustav Nyquist</a> to a one-year, $3.25 million contract not long before Ehlers' deal with Carolina was announced, giving the team an inexpensive winger to play in their top-six forward group. Winnipeg's biggest move of the off-season came before July 1 when it was reported that they were adding <a href="https://oilersnation.com/news/nhl-notebook-winnipeg-jets-sign-jonathan-toews">three-time Stanley Cup winner Jonathan Toews</a>, who's making a return to the NHL after two seasons away from the game.
<h2>Brent Burns inks one-year deal with Avalanche</h2>
With K'Andre Miller in the fold, the Hurricanes opted to move on from veteran defender Brent Burns, and the 40-year-old defender inked a one-year deal with the Colorado Avalanche.

https://twitter.com/StatsCentre/status/1940896971470094425

Burns was a solid defender for the Hurricanes last season, registering six goals and 23 assists over 82 games while averaging nearly 21 minutes per night. He brings unmatched durability and experience, entering his 22nd NHL season with a remarkable 925 consecutive games played, the fourth‑longest ironman streak in league history. Over 1,497 career games, Burns has put up 910 points, good for eighth among defensemen all‑time.
<h2>Sharks sign Dmitry Orlov, claim Nick Leddy off waivers</h2>
The rebuilding Sharks added more veteran depth to their blueline this week. After signing former Edmonton Oilers defender <a href="https://oilersnation.com/news/san-jose-sharks-sign-former-edmonton-oilers-defenceman-john-klingberg">John Klingberg</a> on July 1, San Jose inked <a href="https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/news/san-jose-sharks-sign-dmitry-orlov-claim-nick-leddy-waivers-nhl-free-agency-2025">Dmitry Orlov</a> to a two-year deal worth $6.5 million annually. They also grabbed Nick Leddy off waivers from the St. Louis Blues.

https://twitter.com/TheFourthPeriod/status/1940804510521459092

The Sharks have finished dead last in the league in back-to-back seasons. They've netted Macklin Celebrini, Will Smith, and Michael Misa, with top picks in the draft, and the team is now looking to take a step forward. Adding Orlov, Klingberg, and Leddy should help improve the defence of a team that finished 32nd with 310 goals against last years.
<h2>Players Remaining on <a href="https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/news/top-remaining-2025-nhl-free-agents-ufas-still-available">Daily Faceoff's Top UFAs list</a>:</h2>
<ul>
 	<li>No. 9: Jack Roslovic (C)</li>
 	<li>No. 15: Matt Grzelcyk (D)</li>
 	<li>No. 16: Max Pacioretty (W)</li>
 	<li>No. 21: Viktor Olofsson (W) </li>
 	<li>No. 36: Jeff Skinner (W)</li>
 	<li>No. 38: Luke Kunin (W)</li>
 	<li>No. 39: Ilya Samsonov (G) </li>
 	<li>No. 46: Evgeny Kuznetsov (C)</li>
 	<li>No. 47: Michael Carcone (W)</li>
 	<li>No. 50: Joel Kiviranta (W)</li>
 	<li>No. 52: Luke Glendening (C)</li>
 	<li>No. 55: Alexandar Georgiev (G) </li>
 	<li>No. 58: Craig Smith (W)</li>
 	<li>No. 60: Robby Fabbri (W) </li>
 	<li>No. 63: Klim Kostin (W) </li>
 	<li>No. 64: Jakub Lauko (w)</li>
 	<li>No. 65: Jan Rutta (D)</li>
 	<li>No. 66: TJ Brodie (D)</li>
 	<li>No. 70: Jon Merrill (D)</li>
 	<li>No. 71: Nathan Bastian (W)</li>
 	<li>No. 73: Conor Sheary (W)</li>
 	<li>No. 74: Daniel Sprong (W)</li>
</ul>

NHL Notebook: Hurricanes make splash with Nikolaj Ehlers, Sharks add to defence, and more

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