While most of North Carolina is still celebrating the Carolina Hurricanes’ Stanley Cup victory, the NHL calendar waits for no one.
The NHL Draft begins Friday at 7 p.m. (ESPN) with the next six rounds being held Saturday (NHL Network).
The Hurricanes hold the No. 31 overall pick in the first round and the team has just three other picks – one in the fourth round and two in the sixth round.
The Hurricanes open the preseason Sept. 20 at Florida.
Carolina has traded out of the first round in each of the last two drafts. General Manager Eric Tulsky has used draft picks in significant trades in recent years, including trading a first-round pick as part of the package for defenseman K’Andre Miller.
Nearly all of the Hurricanes’ roster is under contract for 2026-27 with goaltender Frederik Andersen and reserve defenseman Mike Reilly as the lone unrestricted free agents. Defenseman Alexander Nikishin is a restricted free agent.
Free agents
Frederik Andersen (unrestricted), Mike Reilly (unrestricted), Alexander Nikishin (restricted)
Signed through 2026-27
Jordan Staal, Jordan Martinook, Pyotr Kochetkov
Signed through 2027-28
Taylor Hall, Mark Jankowski, Nicolas Deslauriers, Shayne Gostisbehere, Jalen Chatfield
Signed through 2028-29
Andrei Svechnikov, Eric Robinson, Sean Walker, Brandon Bussi
Signed through 2029-30
Jesperi Kotkaniemi, William Carrier
Signed through 2030-31
Nikolaj Ehlers
Signed through 2031-32
Sebastian Aho, Seth Jarvis
Signed through 2032-33
Jaccob Slavin, K’Andre Miller
Signed through 2033-34
Jackson Blake, Logan Stankoven