After decade with Jets, Nikolaj Ehlers signs six-year deal with Hurricanes
Posted July 3, 2025 2:21 pm.
Nikolaj Ehlers is finally off the board.
The Danish forward has left the Winnipeg Jets for the Carolina Hurricanes, signing a six-year deal worth $51 million, the team announced on Thursday.
The 29-year-old has spent his entire career with the Jets since being selected ninth overall in the 2014 draft.
He notched 24 goals and 39 assists in 69 contests last season, helping lead the Jets to the franchise’s first Presidents’ Trophy. Ehlers added five goals and two assists in eight playoff games after debuting late in the post-season due to injury.
For his 674-game career, Ehlers sits seventh among his draft class with 225 goals and 290 assists for 515 points.
His last contract, which kicked in for the 2018-19 season, was a six-year deal worth $42 million total for a $6 million average annual value.
Ehlers now heads to Carolina, joining a team that has fallen in the Eastern Conference Final in two of the past three seasons.
“Nikolaj was the top free agent available on July 1, and we are proud that he’s chosen to make Carolina his home,” Hurricanes general manager Eric Tulsky said. “He’s a highly skilled winger who can really skate and will fit very well with our forward group.”
The winger marks the Hurricanes’ second major addition of the off-season after acquiring defenceman K’Andre Miller in a sign-and-trade with the New York Rangers. Miller then inked an eight-year, $60 million deal with the club.
Carolina also gave an eight-year, $48 million contract extension to young forward Logan Stankoven, who was the centrepiece of the return for Mikko Rantanen from the Dallas Stars.
Winnipeg, meanwhile, will have to pivot to replace Ehlers’ offence. The Jets have been relatively quiet in free agency, with their biggest deal a one-year, $3.25 million pact with forward Gustav Nyquist.
