Carolina Hurricanes
1st in Metropolitan · 2nd in Eastern Conference
vs Lightning
Thu, Feb 26 · 7:00 PM ET · FanDuel Sports South, The Spot
1st in Metropolitan · 2nd in Eastern Conference
vs Lightning
Thu, Feb 26 · 7:00 PM ET · FanDuel Sports South, The Spot
The Hurricanes face a high-stakes crossroads with Alexander Nikishin's next contract after his breakout rookie season lights up the blueline. GM Eric Tulsky weighs bridge deals around $4-5 million or a longer seven-year commitment pushing $8 million, all while trade rumors swirl ahead of the deadline. Teams covet the Russian star's size, skill, and analytics edge, but Carolina holds the cards with cap space and picks to chase a superstar instead.
Brad Marchand sat out two Team Canada games at the Olympics due to a nagging upper-body injury that he reaggravated from earlier in the season with the Panthers. Coach Jon Cooper confirmed it wasn't just about injecting youth like Seth Jarvis, as Marchand nursed the issue ahead of the quarterfinals where he returns in a supporting role alongside stars like McDavid and Crosby.
The Carolina Hurricanes are 1st in the Metropolitan Division with a 36-15-6 record (78 points). Key injuries include Seth Jarvis (Upper Body, IR), Pyotr Kochetkov (Lower Body, IR), Jaccob Slavin (Upper Body, IR), totaling $15.82M on injured reserve.