The Hurricanes signed former Winnipeg Jets forward Nikolaj Ehlers to a six-year deal on Thursday.
A potential suitor for Bryan Rust and Rickard Rakell may no longer be in the market for a winger.
The Carolina Hurricanes were interested in both Rust and Rakell before signing former Winnipeg Jets forward Nikolaj Ehlers to a six-year, $51 million contract, The Athletic’s Josh Yohe reported on Monday.
The Hurricanes could still be making free agency moves with their $10.6 million in remaining cap space, per PuckPedia. But it sounds like Canes will be out on the Penguins’ wingers now that they have Ehlers as a potential linemate for Jasperi Kotkaniemi.
According to Yohe, the Hurricanes would have pursued Rust or Rakell if they hadn’t been able to sign Ehlers in free agency.
He noted that, as of Monday, other teams reportedly “still have heavy interest in both wingers.”
Yohe also added that the belief is the Penguins would want a “good, young NHL player” as part of the return for either player.
That report came one day after Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman provided some insight into Rust and Rakell’s status at the 33:30 mark of Sunday’s episode of 32 Thoughts: The Podcast.
Friedman said that Rakell “would prefer to stay in Pittsburgh” if he could, and noted that there is a “ton of interest” in Rust.
He also said he had previously considered the reigning Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers, who have since used up their available cap space re-signing Brad Marchand, Sam Bennett and Aaron Ekblad, and the Dallas Stars as potential suitors for the Penguins’ trade candidates.
Between the opening of free agency one week ago and Monday, 203 free agents signed contracts worth a total of more than $910 million, per PuckPedia.
Now that some of the top available players off the board, Kyle Dubas will wait and see if any teams are in urgent enough need of a winger to make a trade offer that could compel him to part ways with one of the top players left on the Penguins’ rebuilding roster.