- 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.
Hurricanes Rumors
Metropolitan Notes: Haula, Malkin, Duclair, Edstrom, Stillman
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
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
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
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
- 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.
Fallout From The Mikko Rantanen Trade
After one of the biggest in-season acquisitions since the New Jersey Devils acquired Ilya Kovalchuk for a massive haul in the 2009-10 season, more information has begun trickling out regarding Mikko Rantanen and the Carolina Hurricanes.
In an article in The Athletic (Subscription Required), Pierre LeBrun explains that only a few teams knew Rantanen was available. LeBrun indicates that Colorado’s first intention was to extend Mikko, but general manager Chris MacFarland had already called a few teams, saying they may call back about the Finnish sniper.
Extension talks between Rantanen and the Avalanche had increased over the last few weeks. However, the ’Nathan MacKinnon-internal cap’ gave MacFarland the sense that Mikko wouldn’t sign an extension in the next five months. LeBrun believes Rantanen would have taken less money than Leon Draisaitl received from the Edmonton Oilers ($14MM) but wasn’t willing to make such a drastic cut that he made less than MacKinnon’s $12.6MM salary.
Unsurprisingly, Cory Lavalette from the North State Journal reports the Hurricanes have already had preliminary extension discussions with Rantanen’s agent. Given their history together on Team Finland, Rantanen is already familiar with Sebastian Aho, but he’ll want to get comfortable in Carolina before talks can progress.
As far as what that hypothetical extension may look like — Harman Dayal took a stab at that in a recent article on The Athletic (Subscription Required). Dayal argues that Rantanen’s fairest comparable is Boston Bruins’ forward David Pastrňák who was given 13.5% of the salary cap for the first year of his current contract.
Assuming the salary cap increases to the reported $97 million for next season, that would place Rantanen around the $13.1 million range. It’s already been made clear that Rantanen and his agent have other ideas, as he and the Avalanche likely could have worked out an agreeable salary should that have been the starting point.
Lastly, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman offered some insight regarding the main piece heading back to Colorado — Martin Nečas. Friedman asserts that the Avalanche were not the only team Nečas had been offered to. He believes Nečas was a part of recent trade discussions with the Vancouver Canucks for Elias Pettersson, but not for J.T. Miller.
The acquisition of Rantanen and Taylor Hall likely wraps up all of the headling-making trades for the Hurricanes. Still, despite the cap surgery required for the move, the Hurricanes could circle back on Miller if the Canucks are open to other players on Carolina’s roster.
Hurricanes Acquire Mikko Rantanen And Taylor Hall In Three-Team Swap
Blackhawks winger Taylor Hall was a late scratch from their game tonight against Tampa Bay. His absence wasn’t injury or illness-related, however, as he was traded to Carolina. He wasn’t the only one on the move, however, as the Hurricanes also picked up Mikko Rantanen as part of a three-team swap. The full deal, which has now been announced by all three teams, is as follows:
To Carolina: Taylor Hall, Mikko Rantanen (Chicago retains 50% of his contract), Nils Juntorp
To Chicago: CHI 3rd-round pick in 2025 (via Carolina)
To Colorado: Martin Necas, Jack Drury, 2025 second-round pick, 2026 fourth-round pick
Hall was widely speculated as a trade candidate going back to the start of the season. Now in the final year of his contract (one that carries a $6MM AAV), the veteran recently indicated that he’d be open to remaining with the Blackhawks but admitted that a trade was the likeliest outcome. That departure came a bit sooner than expected with the trade deadline still six weeks away.
The 33-year-old is in his second season with Chicago after being acquired in a cap-clearing move from Boston back in 2023. He was limited to just ten games in 2023-24 though due to a torn ACL but he has remained healthy so far this season. However, production has been difficult to come by this year as he has just nine goals and 15 assists in 46 games and was even made a healthy scratch earlier in the season.
In his prime, Hall was a legitimate top-line winger and even won the Hart Trophy back in 2015-16 while with New Jersey. He has been a 20-goal scorer seven times in his 15-year career, most recently coming in 2021-22 with Boston. While he’s no longer playing at that type of level, he should still be able to give Carolina a boost in their middle six. A potentially long playoff run could also help him rebuild some value heading into free agency this summer.
As for Rantanen, he’s also in the final year of his contract, a deal that carries a $9.25MM price tag, one that the Blackhawks will eat half of to help facilitate the swap, leaving them with just one remaining retention slot for this season. While Rantanen’s camp and the Avs were involved in recent extension discussions, the two sides were still well apart as of last week and clearly, they weren’t able to bridge those to either side’s satisfaction, resulting in Colorado deciding to move him now instead of run the risk of having him walk for nothing in free agency. It was believed that the Avalanche preferred to keep Rantanen’s price below Nathan MacKinnon’s $12.6MM while Rantanen’s side was eyeing Leon Draisaitl’s $14MM AAV (starting next season) as a benchmark. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman adds (Twitter link) that there is no extension in place with Carolina at this time.
Rantanen has consistently been one of the NHL’s top scorers in recent years. Only three players have more points than him since the start of the 2020-21 season, Connor McDavid, MacKinnon, and Draisaitl, certainly lofty company to be in. The 28-year-old has recorded more than 100 points in each of the last two years and is well on his way toward extending that streak. Rantanen has 25 goals and 39 assists in 49 games this season, good for sixth in NHL scoring. He’ll undoubtedly be a big boost to a Carolina attack that’s already among the best in the league, checking in at fourth overall in goals scored.
Necas, like Hall, had been in a lot of trade speculation, especially over the summer. At one point, it looked as if he’d be moved back at the draft amid reports that he had indicated that he’d welcome a change of scenery but that didn’t materialize. Instead, the two sides ultimately settled on a two-year, $13MM deal in July, a deal that gave him a fair-sized raise but also didn’t give Carolina any extra team control.
Two years ago, Necas had a breakout year, posting 28 goals and 43 assists in 82 games. Unfortunately for him and the Hurricanes, those numbers dropped last season to 24 and 29 respectively. However, things have been much better for the 26-year-old this season, as he has 16 goals and 39 assists in 49 games; his 55 points lead the team in scoring. But even with that, GM Eric Tulsky has decided that a significant shakeup to his forward group is required and these two moves certainly count as a significant shakeup.
Necas will likely slot in where Rantanen was on Colorado’s top line and a chance to play with MacKinnon could allow his individual production to flourish. That would certainly be an ideal situation to be in considering he’ll become extension-eligible on July 1st when he’ll have some more leverage only being a year away from hitting the UFA market.
Drury’s first full NHL campaign came last season and it was a good one as he had eight goals and 19 assists in 74 games while winning over 55% of his faceoffs. That helped earn him a two-year, $3.45MM contract over the summer. However, production has been harder to come by for him this season as the 24-year-old has just three goals and six assists through 39 games although his faceoff win percentage is up to 58.8%.
Colorado’s bottom six group has been an area of some concern for a couple of years now with the team churning through numerous players with varying degrees of minimal success. While Drury isn’t producing much more than many of those players, he’ll give the Avs some desired stability down the middle while his faceoff prowess will fit in well on a team that has a success rate at the dot of just 44.5%. They also get some club control over Drury who isn’t UFA-eligible until 2028.
Juntorp was a sixth-round pick by Chicago in 2022 and is included in the swap as the Blackhawks had to send something out beyond Hall to make the three-team element of the deal work. He has 20 points in 25 games with HC Dalen in the Hockey Ettan along with three appearances with Vasteras in the second-tier Allsvenskan.
In the end, Carolina has clearly signaled its intentions to go all-in this season and managed to upgrade its roster without touching any of its future assets. They’ll dip into LTIR for the time being to afford the swap. Colorado, meanwhile, ensures that they’ll get a top-line talent and some other pieces in exchange for Rantanen, giving them an extra year of club control along the way. They also free up a bit of cap space in the process which they’ll likely put to use in the coming weeks. As for Chicago, their return is certainly underwhelming as Hall is effectively given away in this deal while only receiving a third-round pick for eating half of Rantanen’s contract. However, they were able to clear the full freight of Hall’s contract, giving them one more retention slot to utilize before the deadline.
Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic first reported the three-team element and Chicago’s acquisition of the third-round pick. Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli was the first to report Colorado’s involvement in the deal. The Athletic’s Arthur Staple first reported that Necas was part of the swap. ESPN’s Emily Kaplan was first with Drury’s inclusion and the two picks going to Colorado.
Photos courtesy of Imagn Images.
Hurricanes’ William Carrier Out Long Term After Surgery
1/24: After receiving a second opinion, Hurricanes forward William Carrier has moved forward with surgery to address his lower-body injury. Head coach Rod Brind’Amour has shared that the forward will be out “long term” after the procedure, per Chip Alexander of the Raleigh News and Observer – at least two months, per NHL.com’s Walt Ruff. The team is hoping that he’ll return this season.
1/16: Hurricanes winger William Carrier is seeking a second opinion on how to proceed in his recovery from the lower-body injury that’s kept him out for nearly two weeks, head coach Rod Brind’Amour told Chip Alexander of the Raleigh News & Observer.
It’s an inauspicious start to Carrier’s tenure in Carolina after he inked an eye-popping six-year, $12MM deal with heavy trade protection in free agency last summer. The 30-year-old grinder hasn’t returned to the heights of his 16-goal, 25-point campaign in 56 games with the Golden Knights in their Stanley Cup-winning 2022-23 campaign. He’s been limited to four goals and nine points through 39 appearances with the Canes, similar production to the injury-plagued 2023-24 campaign that, in part, led Vegas not to pursue re-signing him aggressively.
Regardless of whether or not he undergoes surgery to address the issue, it’s likely he’s facing another lengthy stay on the shelf. Carrier was on IR for nearly half the campaign last year with upper-body issues, so while his current problem isn’t related, it still indicates a rapidly growing proneness to injury. It’s not unsurprising for how the gritty Quebec native plays, already racking up 136 hits to lead Carolina by a huge margin with 18.01 per 60 minutes.
Before landing on the shelf, Carrier had been ridiculously effective, even if he wasn’t scoring. He’s replaced the injured Jesper Fast on the Canes’ third line alongside Jordan Martinook and Jordan Staal for much of the campaign, with the trio controlling 65.8% of expected goals at even strength, per MoneyPuck.
His and Tyson Jost’s continued absence will provide increased opportunities for depth wingers like call-up Juha Jaaska, who has an assist and a plus-one rating through his first seven NHL games over the past couple of weeks.
Carolina Hurricanes Recall Riley Stillman
Before tomorrow’s intra-division game against the Columbus Blue Jackets, the Carolina Hurricanes added some depth to their blue line. The Hurricanes announced they’ve recalled defenseman Riley Stillman from their AHL affiliate, the Chicago Wolves.
Stillman lost the first month of the 2024-25 NHL season to a lower-body injury and was finally activated from the injured non-roster list on November 12th. Since clearing waivers the next day, the seven-year veteran has received five call-ups by Carolina this year.
He’s been a stable presence on AHL Chicago’s blue line this season. Although he’s only scored two goals and five points in 15 contests, that’s only one point shy of his 47-game output from last season. Aside from his mild offensive production, Stillman has a -2 rating on the year and is sixth on the team in PIMs.
Although the Hurricanes face several injuries to their forwards, the team’s blue line is not currently affected. That makes Stillman’s recall more peculiar, given that a home game against the Blue Jackets wouldn’t require additional depth.
Another noteworthy aspect of Stillman’s recall is the selection of him over defenseman Ty Smith. Smith cleared waivers 10 days ago and has only spent a few days on the roster since. That gives Carolina nearly a month of Smith with complete flexibility but they’ve chosen to have him remain in AHL Chicago for the time being.