Nov 14, 2026 4:58 PM
Roster crunches and the resurgence of Juuso Valimaki have forced Mike Reilly out of Carolina, as the Hurricanes waive the veteran to activate captain Jordan Staal.
The Carolina Hurricanes placed veteran blueliner Mike Reilly on waivers, the team announced on Saturday.
In order to activate captain Jordan Staal off of injured reserve, the team had to place a player on waivers due to the 23-man roster limit and so it wound up being Reilly.
"It's the business part of hockey," said Carolina coach Rod Brind'Amour on Saturday. "We love Mike Reilly, but you can only have so many guys on the roster. It's really a tough part of hockey."
Reilly, who was part of the 2026 Stanley Cup Championship team, signed a one-year, two-way extension toward the end of summer this year and many had him as a potential 6/7 on the team for another year.
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However, with the return of Alexander Nikishin and the resurgence of Juuso Valimaki, Reilly simply found himself too far down the depth chart.
Reilly, 33, has appeared in eight games with the Hurricanes so far this season, but hasn't played since Oct. 18, when Valimaki ended up stepping in and never looking back.
"Really what happened, with Niki being out, Juuso came in and kind of took a step," Brind'Amour said. "It is what it is."
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