Carolina Hurricanes winger Nikolaj Ehlers explains why he decided to leave the Winnipeg Jets in 2025 NHL Free Agency.

Then, a few days into free agency, star forward Nikolaj Ehlers left Winnipeg to sign with the Carolina Hurricanes as an unrestricted free agent. The 29-year-old forward signed a six-year, $51 million contract with the Hurricanes in free agency, ending a decade-long run with the Jets.

One of the problems with Ehlers is that he hasn’t been a consistent playoff performer, which makes some sense given his size and that he’s a bit of a perimeter rush threat. To his credit, Ehlers was much stronger during the 2025 playoffs, but it’ll take a lot more than that to prove his doubters wrong.