On July 1, ESPN's Emily Kaplan reported that the Tampa Bay Lightning were one of the teams believed to be interested in star forward Nikolaj Ehlers. However, the possibility of Ehlers coming to Tampa Bay can now be officially forgotten, as he has picked his new team.
The Carolina Hurricanes have announced that they have signed Ehlers to a six-year contract with an average annual value of $8.5 million. With this, Ehlers will now be a significant part of the Hurricanes' top six for a long time.
While the Lightning were rumored to be interested in Ehlers, it is not particularly surprising that he is heading elsewhere. They have very little cap space to work with this summer and would have needed to move out some money to improve their chances of landing a top free agent like Ehlers.
If the Lightning found a way to land Ehlers, he undoubtedly would have been a major pickup for their roster. He would have been an excellent fit in their top six and on their power play, as he is a very impactful offensive contributor. The 29-year-old forward has scored at least 21 goals eight times over his 10-year career and has recorded at least 60 points four times. This includes this past campaign, as he had 24 goals and 63 points in 69 games with the Winnipeg Jets.
It is going to be very fascinating to see how Ehlers performs for the Hurricanes from here, but on paper, this looks like a great move for a Carolina club with Stanley Cup aspirations.
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