While Mitch Marner's getting much of the attention for thriving in the playoffs one year after leaving the Toronto Maple Leafs, Nikolaj Ehlers is doing the same with the Carolina Hurricanes.
Nkolaj Ehlers wasn't run out of Winnipeg.
The fans didn't turn on him. Neither did the media. The only dark days he really faced during his decade with the Jets were during the month of December, when the sun tends to rarely show up.
But like Mitch Marner, who is rubbing rock salt in the wounds of Leafs fans by reaching the Stanley Cup final in his first year with Vegas, Ehlers has also been reminding Jets fans of what they lost now that he's one win away from reaching the final in his first year with the Carolina Hurricanes.
"I believed that this team had the pieces to keep competing in the playoffs," said Ehlers, who left Winnipeg as a free agent and signed a six-year contract worth $51 million. "And I wanted to be a part of that. And now being here for my first full season, I know I was right."
Indeed, Ehlers' decision to leave Winnipeg after 10 years for a change of scenery in Carolina appears to have been a wise one.
In his first season with the Hurricanes, the 30-year-old left winger set a career high with 71 points in the regular season. In 11 playoff games, he has four goals and a career-best eight points.
With a win against the Montreal Canadiens in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference final, a player who reached the conference final once during his time with the Jets could be playing in his first Stanley Cup final.
And yet, the transition from Winnipeg to Carolina wasn't exactly smooth.
Ehlers went a month before scoring his first goal. For most of the first half of the season, Ehlers was jumping from line to line in search of chemistry. He played a bit with Sebastian Aho and Seth Jarvis. He saw time with Logan Stankoven and Jackson Blake.
Nothing really fit.
It wasn't until midway through January when coach Rod Brind'Amour did something a bit unusual and placed Ehlers on a checking line with Jordan Staal and Jordan Martinook that things finally started to click — even if it came with a new job description for the six-foot and 168-pound player.
"Obviously, you get more and more comfortable throughout the season when it's your first year with a new team," said Ehlers. "I'm not a guy who hits a lot, but I try to hit once in a while."
In the final 35 games of the season, Ehlers led the Hurricanes with 37 points in 35 games.
Ehlers credits his bigger linemates for creating space for him to hold onto the puck and make plays. But with 21 hits and 24 takeaways in the regular season — and 12 hits in 11 playoff games — Ehlers hasn't been afraid to use his body when necessary.
"I'm a big guy," said Ehlers, laughing. "The heavy hitting wasn't a big deal for me."
Nikolaj Ehlers, who has 12 hits in the playoffs, said it's more fun to be delivering bodychecks as a member of the Carolina Hurricanes — than receiving them. (Eric Bolte-Imagn Images)Indeed, Ehlers won't intimidate opponents with his physicality. At the same time, his willingness to go from a top-line role to playing a heavier game on a shutdown line is a big reason why he — and the team — has been able to find success.
After all, the Hurricanes have been able to spread around the offense during the playoffs, with five players scoring four or more goals.
"Every night, they're either scoring or doing their thing," Brind'Amour said of Ehlers and his linemates. "And it certainly sets us up for being a more deep team when you can spread it around like that."
Taylor Hall, who had been a Hart Trophy winner and a 93-point scorer before coming to Carolina a year ago, has talked about the "learning process" that incoming players have when playing for the Hurricanes. In some cases, like Jake Guentzel, Evgeny Kuznetsov or Mikko Rantanen, coach Brind'Amour's smothering defensive system and penchant for dump-and-hunt hockey can be a culture shock for star players.
In Carolina, talent takes a backseat to work ethic. It doesn't matter if you're paid $8 million or $800,000; every single player has to forecheck, backcheck and deliver bodychecks.
"I think it takes a while for some guys," said Hall, who, after scoring 48 points this season, now leads the team with 13 points in the playoffs. "For some, it’s longer than others."
Ehlers is the first to admit that it took time to figure out. But given the option between delivering a hit or receiving one, he jokingly said he'll take the former any day — especially if it means not having to play against the Hurricanes anymore.
"I played against this team for my entire career, and obviously, this past many years, this team has been a really good team, a really hard team to play against," he said. "They play the same way every single shift, and they just lay it on you. I didn't want to be on the other side anymore. So it's been fun to be part of that."
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