Free agency is just over a month away, and teams are looking ahead to when it opens. There will be several impact players set to hit the open market in July, while many teams also have key restricted free agents to re-sign. We continue our look around the NHL with an overview of the free agent situation for the Hurricanes.
Key Restricted Free Agents
F Ryan Suzuki – The Hurricanes are a rare bird this summer. After needing to deal with high-profile RFAs in the 2024 offseason in Seth Jarvis and Martin Nečas, Carolina didn’t even have a single pending RFA on the active roster to end the season. We’ll look at the most intriguing non-roster RFA at each position instead, starting with Suzuki. The 2019 first-round pick needed to have a big 2024-25 campaign to maintain a role in the organization after some underwhelming AHL performance over the last few years, and he delivered. The 24-year-old recorded a career-high 59 points (12 G, 47 A) in 69 games for the Chicago Wolves, leading the club in assists and points. Suzuki landed his NHL debut amid that surge, recording a plus-one rating but no points in a pair of outings in January and February. He’ll likely just end up accepting his $813,750 qualifying offer, but it was uncertain whether he’d secure one at all when looking at his track record a season ago.
D Ty Smith – The 2021 All-Rookie defenseman did log some NHL time for Carolina this year, posting a goal and an assist in eight games as a frequent call-up option from the Wolves. It was his first NHL action since January 2023, as the 2018 first-round pick has failed to hold onto an everyday role after aggressively sliding down the Devils’ depth chart following his promising first-year showing four years ago. He did manage 28 points and a plus-four rating on a defensively challenged AHL Chicago team in 36 games, though. While that may not be enough to secure him a qualifying offer from a Hurricanes organization with brighter defense prospects to insert into next season’s lineup, it could be enough to convince an NHL team in need of an offensive rearguard to give him a more extended look next fall.
G Yaniv Perets – A 2023 NCAA national championship with Quinnipiac, Perets hits RFA status following his second professional season. The 25-year-old played mostly in the ECHL with the Bloomington Bison but was exceptional there, recording a .921 SV%, 2.59 GAA, and three shutouts with a 12-12-1 record. That was a huge step up over last year’s .889 SV% in the ECHL and could be enough to earn him a qualifying offer, although Carolina already has two young minor-league goalies under contract for 2025-26 and might prefer a more veteran option to complement the depth chart as a No. 3 option rather than using a contract slot on Perets.
Other RFAs: F Skyler Brind’Amour, F Noel Gunler, D Domenick Fensore, D Anttoni Honka, D Ronan Seeley
Key Unrestricted Free Agents
D Brent Burns – Burns, 40, finally got caught by Father Time in 2024-25. While he remained in a top-pairing role alongside Jaccob Slavin, his offensive production took a sizable hit compared to the up-and-down point totals he’d posted over the last few years. His 29 points in 82 games were the fourth-worst points per game pace of his 21-year career and his lowest since his first three years in the NHL. His 20:57 average time on ice was also its lowest since then, not including the two years he primarily played right wing with the Sharks. Once a physical force, he wasn’t nearly as involved along the wall or stepping up against forwards as he once was. Burns had just 11 hits all year. It wouldn’t be surprising to see Carolina let Burns walk and deploy younger righty Scott Morrow in his role next season. If he extends his career in Carolina or elsewhere, he’s looking at a one-year deal at likely no more than half of his previous $8MM cap hit.
D Dmitry Orlov – Orlov hasn’t been the best fit with the Canes after signing a two-year, $15.5MM deal in free agency in 2023. He was the top prize of that year’s weak UFA class, but the lefty got thrust into sheltered minutes last year on the left side behind Slavin and Brady Skjei, averaging just 17:19 per game after seeing over 22 minutes per night the year prior. Orlov got increased deployment this year after Skjei left in free agency, logging 20 minutes per game and posting 28 points with a +16 rating in 76 appearances. He remains an extremely serviceable top-four piece with historically strong possession impacts, but the 33-year-old will almost surely hit the open market with the higher-upside Alexander Nikishin set to replace his role in 2025-26. While Orlov’s poor postseason showing may sour some teams on the open market, he again benefits from a weaker market and should again land north of $5MM per season on a short-term deal.
F Jack Roslovic – Roslovic was a pleasant surprise for the Canes, who picked him up for cheap last summer to help soften the blow of losing multiple scoring forwards in free agency. The 28-year-old rewarded their $2.8MM investment by tying his career-high 22 goals, totaling 39 points in 81 games to sit sixth on the Canes in scoring. He can play both center and wing, a valuable factor for a Hurricanes team that’s thin down the middle. It would be surprising not to see them try to retain his services before he hits the open market on July 1, but it’ll likely take something in the $4MM range on a multi-year commitment to help dissuade other offers.
F Eric Robinson – Robinson, 30 next month, also punched far above his weight class offensively for what the Canes paid for him last summer ($950K) to help add some bottom-six depth. The longtime Blue Jackets winger answered the bell with a 14-18–32 scoring line in 82 games, averaging 12:16 per game while placing fourth on the club with 123 hits. He’s also presumably someone the club wants to keep around. Will they be willing to triple his salary to do so?
F Tyson Jost – 2024-25 was an important campaign for Jost, who re-established himself as a fine fourth-line/press box option after spending a significant chunk of last season in the AHL. He still saw some brief minor-league assignments this year but injuries paved the way for him to make 39 appearances, scoring nine points and a plus-two rating while averaging 10:22 per game. He had a stellar 60.3% share of shot attempts at even strength, and it stands to reason both parties could be interested in extending his stay in Raleigh as a 12th/13th forward.
Other UFAs: F Jesper Fast, F Juha Jaaska, D Joakim Ryan, D Riley Stillman, G Spencer Martin, G Dustin Tokarski
Projected Cap Space
After dealing with a cap crunch last summer, general manager Eric Tulsky will have much more flexibility in his second offseason at the helm. Burns’ and Orlov’s deals expiring, plus young players on entry-level deals ready to step into their roles, means they can be among the top players in free agency with $28.4MM in space. They’ll have the flexibility to retain whoever they want from the list above, plus pursue some of the top-notch prizes available on the open market.
Image courtesy of James Guillory-Imagn Images (Suzuki) and Timothy T. Ludwig-Imagn Images (Burns). Contract info courtesy of PuckPedia.
After being a healthy scratch multiple times in the playoffs, no chance the Canes value Roslovic enough to pay have $4 million per season.
No need for the Canes to over-invest in any of these players.
What Burns has left isn’t worth a QUARTER of his current cap hit, let alone half of it. The minors are full of middling-offense/no-defense/no-physicality guys happy to be the 6th or 7th defenseman at league minimum.