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Hurricanes Assign Juha Jaaska And Scott Morrow To AHL

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After playing their final game before the break earlier today (a 7-3 win over Utah), the Hurricanes made a pair of roster moves.  The team announced that winger Juha Jaaska and defenseman Scott Morrow have been assigned to AHL Chicago.

Jaaska has been recalled and demoted several times already with Carolina making close to daily roster moves to maximize their cap space.  (That trend should stop now for a couple of weeks until play resumes after the break.)  The 26-year-old is in his first season in North America after signing as an undrafted free agent last spring and has split time between the Hurricanes and Wolves.  With the former, he has four assists in 17 games while averaging a little under nine minutes a night of playing time.  He has been much more productive in the minors though, tallying seven goals and nine assists in 26 outings on the farm.

Morrow is in his first full professional season after wrapping up his college career last year.  The 22-year-old played in his second NHL contest of the season this afternoon, logging 12:11 of ice time while he’s still looking for his first point.  With the Wolves, Morrow has been an impressive contributor, notching 10 goals and 19 assists in 41 appearances.  After notching at least 30 points in his three college years, Morrow has done well keeping up that level of production in his first taste of the minors.

Mikko Rantanen Out With Lower-Body Injury

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  • In another potential scare for Team Finland, the Carolina Hurricanes announced forward Mikko Rantanen wouldn’t be in the lineup this afternoon due to a lower-body injury after taking a shot off the foot in Thursday’s game against the Minnesota Wild. Thankfully, it doesn’t sound like Rantanen will miss the 4 Nations Face-Off based on a report from Frank Seravalli of the Daily Faceoff. He’s only mustered one goal and one assist through his first six games with the Hurricanes but he’s still arguably Finland’s top offensive talent.

    [SOURCE LINK]

Trade Deadline Primer: Carolina Hurricanes

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With the 4 Nations Face-Off break approaching, the trade deadline looms large and is about a month away. Where does each team stand, and what moves should they be looking to make? We continue our look around the league with the Carolina Hurricanes.

Like a handful of other teams, the Hurricanes already landed their big fish well in advance of the March 7 trade deadline. Mikko Rantanen and Taylor Hall are in for Martin Nečas and Jack Drury, giving them some additional scoring punch on the wings. There are still some areas for improvement on the roster, though, and general manager Eric Tulsky may have another more minor move or two up his sleeve.

Record

32-18-4, 2nd in the Metropolitan

Deadline Status

Buyer

Deadline Cap Space

$282K on deadline day + $3.17MM LTIR pool, 0/3 retention slots used, 46/50 contracts used, per PuckPedia.

Upcoming Draft Picks

2025: CAR 1st, TBL 3rd, CAR 4th, CAR 6th, CAR 7th
2026: CAR 1st, CAR 2nd, CAR 5th, TOR 6th, CAR 6th, CAR 7th

Trade Chips

Unlike most contenders, the Hurricanes’ draft pick pool is quite well-stocked. Their prospect pool also ranks in the league’s upper echelon – depending on who you include – and they barely dipped into it in the Rantanen blockbuster by leveraging an already-established top-six winger in Nečas. Whether they have the cap flexibility to acquire an asset that warrants a first-round pick remains to be seen, but they do have their own picks for the next few years left at their disposal, plus a 2026 second-rounder that’s also fairly valuable.

The qualifier in the first paragraph refers to defenseman Alexander Nikishin, who’s the most valuable trade chip Carolina could leverage outside of their first-round picks. The 23-year-old lefty has aged out of being able to be considered a prospect in some circles, but he’s easily the best and highest-ceiling player in the Hurricanes organization who’s not on the roster. Standing at 6’4″ and 216 lbs, the 2020 third-round pick has blossomed into arguably the best defenseman not currently in the NHL.

Now in his second season as captain of SKA St. Petersburg of the Kontinental Hockey League, he’s led KHL defensemen in scoring in back-to-back seasons and has added 35 points in 47 games this year with a +17 rating. He’s on an expiring contract and will almost certainly be coming to the NHL next season, whether that’s in Carolina or elsewhere, if they deal his signing rights. They’d prefer retaining him, especially with Brent Burns and Dmitry Orlov on expiring contracts, but he’s an asset they’ll need to consider if they figure out a way to make another sizable splash. But depending on how (and if) their other top defense prospect, Scott Morrow, performs after this week’s recall, they could be more willing to move on from one or the other.

Outside of that, it’s hard to imagine the Hurricanes dealing from their roster again after already parting ways with Nečas and Drury. There are some other depth pieces in their prospect pool they could be willing to move, namely wingers Nikita Artamonov and Felix Unger Sörum, but the organization has spoken highly of both and would likely rather part ways with their draft capital.

Team Needs

1) Help Down The Middle: While Rantanen’s been snakebitten since his acquisition with a goal and an assist in five games, he’s shooting at just 5.6% and will rebound soon enough. They accomplished their main objective of adding general scoring punch and high-end talent – something that’s been sorely lacking throughout their championship window to date outside of Sebastian Aho and Andrei Svechnikov. They now have time to focus on positional needs, where adding another player who can ice out Jesperi Kotkaniemi as their second-line center reigns supreme. He’s producing more offense than 2023-24’s nightmarish 12-15–27 line in 79 games played, but he’s still barely clicking at a 40-point pace and has underwhelming possession numbers in already limited minutes for someone currently tasked with centering Hall and Svechnikov. It could be another low-cost, high-risk pickup in the vein of last season’s Evgeny Kuznetsov trade, of which Ryan Donato would fit the bill if the Blackhawks are willing to be trade partners again. He’d be affordable given their tight cap situation – the same can’t be said for others on the board like Dylan Cozens or Brock Nelson without a third team retaining salary in a deal. The Canadiens’ Jake Evans is also producing at a slightly higher rate than Kotkaniemi this year in more extended usage, with much better relative possession impacts.

2) Another Depth Forward: The Hurricanes have a strong No. 3 option in goal in Dustin Tokarski and decent defensive depth in case of injury, with names like Morrow, Ty Smith, Joakim Ryan, and Riley Stillman providing a good mix of offensive utility and experience in case of an injury to their ironclad top-six group. The same can’t be said for their depth wingers, which have taken a hit with Jesper Fast’s season-long absence and a long-term injury to his replacement, William Carrier. Their LTIR flexibility could allow them to at least add a six-figure winger with a bit more experience or offensive upside to rotate into their bottom six in case of added injury issues.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Hurricanes Recall Scott Morrow, Reassign Riley Stillman

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The Carolina Hurricanes have recalled top defense prospect Scott Morrow to the NHL. It’s the first recall of Morrow’s NHL career, though he did play two games with the Hurricanes at the end of last season. To make room for the move, Carolina has assigned defender Riley Stillman to the minor leagues. This is the third time Stillman has been sent to the AHL this week.

Morrow has been red-hot as of late. He has 10 points, 17 penalty minutes, and 22 shots on net over his last eight AHL games. The hot streak has helped Morrow earn the AHL’s title of highest-scoring rookie defenseman with 29 points in 41 games – just two more than San Jose Sharks prospect Luca Cagnoni’s 27 points in 39 games. Carolina has made the move to recognize Morrow’s strong play, and could quickly reward him with his season debut per Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli. That might require the Hurricanes to run 11 forwards and seven defensemen in their three remaining games before the 4-Nations break. They could be set up nicely to do that with top winger Andrei Svechnikov day-to-day with an upper-body injury, though the Russian winger did return to practice in full on Monday morning.

The Hurricanes can afford to be a bit relaxed in the days before break. They’ve set a 6-2-2 record over their last 10 games and rank second in the Metropolitan Division with a 32-17-4 record and 68 points. This could be a golden chance to see how Morrow holds up to NHL competition, which will be helpful information with both Dmitry Orlov and Brent Burns headed for unrestricted free agency this summer. Morrow’s minor league performances have more than shown his long-term upside, and strong play over the next few days could earn him a longer NHL stay soon.

Stillman Recalled, Suzuki Sent To AHL

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  • The Hurricanes continue their daily roster movement. They announced that they’ve assigned forward Ryan Suzuki to AHL Chicago while recalling blueliner Riley Stillman; the two have been trading places in recent days.  Despite the numerous recalls, Stillman has only suited up once this season with Carolina.  Suzuki, meanwhile, played his first two NHL games earlier this week.  It wouldn’t be surprising to see one or both of these players in another transaction in the near future.

Metropolitan Notes: Haula, Malkin, Duclair, Edstrom, Stillman

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It has been one of the busiest weeks of the season for the Metropolitan Division. Five of the division’s eight teams have made trades in the last few weeks, and all eight clubs are dealing with multiple injuries. That’s sparked plenty of news and updates – starting with the New Jersey Devils, who plan to bring centerman Erik Haula on their upcoming two-game road trip despite already ruling him out for Sunday’s game against Buffalo, per team reporter Amanda Stein. Stein added that Haula will practice with the team on the road trip and be questionable for Tuesday’s game against Pittsburgh. Haula suffered an ankle injury on January 5th and has been out of action ever since. He’s missed 11 games and was placed on injured reserve on January 17th. He resumed skating four days later and was upgraded to out day-to-day on January 29th.

Haula is now one step closer to returning. Having already been ruled out of Sunday’s game, he’ll have three more opportunities to get back into the lineup before the team goes on a two-week break for the 4-Nations Face-Off. Whether or not he’ll be able to return before that break will be notable, as Haula has been selected to represent Team Finland at the tournament. He has so far made no indication that he won’t be able to play – but the thought of his absence will weigh on a Finnish club that recently lost top defenseman Miro Heiskanen for the tourney. Haula is in the midst of a down year, with just 11 points in 42 games – his lowest scoring pace since the 2016-17 season. But he’ll still be an important addition to the Finns’ lineup should he return back to full health, likely to slot in as a middle-six winger with Sebastian Aho, Roope Hintz, Aleksander Barkov, and Anton Lundell manning the middle lane.

The Pittsburgh Penguins are gearing up for an even more notable return, after franchise legend Evgeni Malkin has returned to practice in a non-contact jersey on Saturday, per Matt Vensel of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Malkin has missed Pittsburgh’s last four games and is still expected to miss a few more with a lower-body injury. He will be hard-pressed to return before Pittsburgh’s 4-Nations break begins on February 8th. The Penguins have lost two of the games that Malkin has missed. They were outscored 9-2 in the pair of outings. With that in mind, Pittsburgh will hope their future Hall-of-Fame Russian can get back to full health ASAP – and get back to building on the 34 points he’s scored in 47 games this season. Malkin continues to play a pivotal role on the team’s second line, averaging north of 18 minutes of ice time this season.

While New Jersey and Pittsburgh gear up for returns, the Islanders will have yet another lineup vacancy to fill, with winger Anthony Duclair set to miss Saturday’s game due to illness, per Andrew Gross of Newsday Sports. Duclair missed over two months of action earlier in the year, sitting out from October 20th to December 21st with a lower-body injury. He scored three points in his first three games back, but has been ice cold ever since – with just two points in his last 14 games. Duclair has held onto top-nine ice time despite the scoring drought, giving the Islanders a hardy role to fill as he misses yet another game. Marc Gatcomb has returned to the lineup to fill the vacancy, earning another chance to find scoring after playing in his first seven NHL games, and scoring his first goal, earlier this season. Gatcomb will fill a fourth-line role, while Simon Holmstrom has been promoted into the top-nine.

Joining the list of Metropolitan absentees is New York Rangers forward Adam Edstrom, who suffered an apparent injury in the team’s Saturday loss to the Boston Bruins. No specifics of Edstrom’s injury or timeline have been revealed. It’s terrible timing for the towering forward, who’s scored two points and seen a boost in ice time over his last five games. His absence will force the Rangers to fill a hole on their fourth line, likely opening the door for Arthur Kaliyev, Jimmy Vesey, or top prospect Brennan Othmann to earn a spot start. Vesey notably voiced concerns over his ice time recently – and could now have a golden chance to prove he can make a lasting impact with minimal minutes.

Closing out the littany of Metro updates – the Carolina Hurricanes have reassigned depth defenseman Riley Stillman back to the minor leagues. Stillman was recalled for his season debut on Friday. He played in just under eight minutes of ice time and recorded one shot and two hits. He’ll now return to the minor leagues, where he’s scored two goals and five points through 15 games.

Carolina Hurricanes Recall Riley Stillman, Ryan Suzuki

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Jan. 31st: The Hurricanes briefly reversed yesterday’s transaction this afternoon. Carolina announced that they reassigned Suzuki to AHL Chicago and recalled Stillman to the NHL roster. Suzuki went scoreless in 6:12 in his debut last night and picked up one hit.  However, after 4 PM CT, the team announced Suzuki’s recall again; by waiting until then to do so, he won’t count on their books until Saturday.

Jan. 30th: According to a team announcement, the Carolina Hurricanes have recalled 2019 first-round draft pick, Ryan Suzuki, ahead of tonight’s game against the Chicago Blackhawks. In a corresponding roster move, Carolina has reassigned defenseman Riley Stillman to their AHL affiliate, the Chicago Wolves.

Suzuki, the younger brother of Montreal Canadiens’ captain Nick Suzuki, is the only player selected in the first round of the 2019 NHL Draft who has yet to make his NHL debut. The Hurricanes will confirm their lineup closer to puck drop. Still, it is expected that Suzuki will take the place of Sebastian Aho, who is questionable for tonight’s matchup due to illness.

Injuries began afflicting Suzuki almost immediately upon joining the Hurricanes organization. He suffered a high stick in 2019 which left him with a permanent blind spot in one eye, and was slowed in his recovery due to his contracting COVID-19. He scored 12 goals and 12 assists in his first two years with AHL Chicago when he was limited to only 50 games overall.

Thankfully, the last three years have been much healthier for the London, Ontario native. He scored 27 goals and 62 points in 101 games between the 2022-23 and 2023-24 AHL seasons, spending last year with the Springfield Thunderbirds when the Hurricanes were without a direct affiliate.

The long road to his NHL debut has culminated in an All-Star-level performance this year. Suzuki has scored six goals and 30 points in 38 games for the Wolves, leading the playoff-likely team in scoring.

Aside from Suzuki’s feel-good story, Stillman will re-join the Wolves roster for the first time in a week. He skated in 7:40 of action against the New York Rangers on January 28th for his first NHL game since April 14, 2023, when he was a member of the Buffalo Sabres.

Hurricanes Might Not Be Done Trading

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Fresh off their massive blockbuster trade to acquire Mikko Rantanen from Colorado, the Carolina Hurricanes might not be done making trades (as per TSN’s Chris Johnston on Insider Trading). The Hurricanes also acquired winger Taylor Hall in the Rantanen deal which further bolstered their forward depth.

Despite the additions, the Hurricanes did open up a hole in their roster at the center position as they moved out Jack Drury to Colorado in the trade. While Drury was a bit of an afterthought in the trade with the Avalanche, he has been a solid bottom-six center for Carolina over the last few seasons and opens up a bit of a hole that the Hurricanes may need to fill.

One spot that Johnston doesn’t believe Carolina will look for an upgrade is in the net. That news is a little bit surprising given that the Hurricanes were on the hunt earlier in the season for an upgrade between the pipes. At this point, the Hurricanes have the tandem of Pyotr Kochetkov and Frederik Andersen, and while neither man is a star goaltender, they are both capable NHL netminders.

Any salary that the Hurricanes take on during the season will require that the same salary goes out the door as Carolina has less than $500K of cap space for the NHL Trade Deadline (as per Puck Pedia).  While that could prove problematic when trying to make the trade, Carolina can get creative if they find a player they like that suits a need.

Additional Fallout From The Mikko Rantanen Trade

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Although plenty of new information has emerged regarding the trade that sent Mikko Rantanen from the Colorado Avalanche to the Carolina Hurricanes, we hadn’t heard from the player himself. In an article by Corey Masisak of The Denver Post, Rantanen finally spoke about the trade from his point of view. 

One of the biggest takeaways from the interview with Masisak is that he confirmed he was willing to take a discount to stay with the Avalanche organization, which had been widely reported in the days following the trade. Masisak quoted Rantanen saying, “I was ready to take a significant discount for my market value. We had some chats, like a couple days before. Then they traded me. That’s what happened. That’s why I didn’t expect what happened.”

Despite being blindsided by the trade, it doesn’t appear Rantanen is taking it too personally. Even though he had never been traded in his career, he acknowledged one of the realities of his profession when he said, “I don’t know. I didn’t know we were in a rush. That’s what I felt like. That’s my honest opinion. But it’s business and I understand. They’re trying to think what’s best for them and you’ve got to understand that. You’ve got to understand they are only doing the business how they think it is good for their future.”

Regarding the potential extension, several analysts and pundits have suggested that Rantanen’s starting point was Leon Draisaitl’s eight-year, $112 million extension with the Edmonton Oilers. Still, provided the added context of the Avalanche’s lack of desire to pay anyone more than Nathan MacKinnon’s $12.6MM salary, it was going to be hard to resolve even if Rantanen was willing to take a pay cut.

Moving on to one of the facilitators of the blockbuster deal, the general manager of the Chicago Blackhawks, Kyle Davidson, spoke about his team’s involvement in the deal. In an interview with Scott Powers of The Athletic (Subscription Required), Davidson was quoted saying, “In waiting, you run the risk of things like injury, (and) the role was diminishing almost by the game. It just wasn’t heading towards a way that was going to maximize or enhance value. In moving then, we moved at full price and held (salary) on the other player involved. It just didn’t make sense to wait and not really get a better return later on.”

Davidson was referencing Chicago’s inclusion in the deal beyond retaining half of Rantanen’s remaining salary. The Blackhawks traded former MVP Taylor Hall whose ice time had been precipitously dropping over the last several games. The fourth-year general manager wasn’t convinced Chicago would get a better offer had they waited closer until the trade deadline.

Jost Placed On LTIR

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  • The Hurricanes have placed center Tyson Jost on LTIR, PuckPedia reports (Twitter link). The 26-year-old last played at the end of December and is battling a lower-body injury although he resumed skating last week.  Assuming the placement is retroactive, he has already missed the required 10 games and 24 days.  The move allowed them to remain cap-compliant after Friday’s three-team trade.

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