Something, something, the grass is always greener...
After one year apart, the Carolina Hurricanes and Chicago Wolves have partnered back up on a three-year AHL affiliate agreement that will carry through the 2026-27 season.
As part of the agreement, Carolina will take over the hockey operations of the Wolves.
The two organizations were previously affiliated from 2020-2023, and Chicago won the Calder Cup in 2022, but the Wolves ended up going independent for the 2023-24 season.
That didn't go so well for the Wolves however as the team missed the playoffs for a second straight year, posting a 23-35-7 record, the second worst record in the league.
It also wasn't all peachy for the Canes either as they had to distribute players either to other AHL teams such as the Springfield Thunderbirds or even to the ECHL with the Norfolk Admirals. Other players went back to play in Europe for a year.
But now, the teams have worked out a new deal and both sides should be much happier with that.
“We’re excited to reestablish our AHL affiliation with Chicago, and thankful that we could find a solution which worked for both clubs,” said Hurricanes general manager Don Waddell in a press release. “Many of our prospects have already had success with the Wolves, both individually and as a team, and we’re happy to have secured a consistent environment for their development.”
“We’re looking forward to being affiliated again and moving forward,” said Wolves general manager Wendell Young in a press release. “It’s for the benefit of the Chicago Wolves, the Carolina Hurricanes and the American Hockey League that we have 32 NHL teams and 32 AHL affiliates. It’s good to be partnered with the Hurricanes.”
The Canes have a lot of prospects that are starting to make the journey into professional hockey either from college and juniors or from Europe. The affiliation with the Wolves will give them somewhere where they can get assured playing time and proper development in the Hurricanes' systems.
Current Hurricanes players Jalen Chatfield, Jack Drury, Pyotr Kochetkov and Stefan Noesen all spent time with the Wolves before making the jump to Carolina.