Carolina enters a new season with the same core, the same standard and, for now, the same confidence in how this group is built.
General manager Eric Tulsky met with the media Monday at Lenovo Center on the eve of the Hurricanes’ opener, and his message was clear: this team is not trying to reinvent itself after winning the Stanley Cup. Nearly everyone is back, everybody already knows Rod Brind’Amour’s demanding system, and the expectation is that familiarity will be an advantage from the jump.
“There is an upside to having the status quo,” Tulsky said during the news conference. “We have players who hit the ground running from Day 1; they know what to do, they know what's expected of them.
There are always little wrinkles to learn, but the system as a whole is something that everybody out there understands from Day 1. Hopefully that shows up in the cohesiveness when we hit the ice.”
Tulsky said training camp was treated as a “new journey,” even after a celebratory summer, and he pointed to the shape of the roster as one sign that the group handled it the right way. Some players arrived at camp 20 to 25 pounds lighter, which helped quiet any talk of complacency.
“It’s also just sort of an attitude,” Tulsky said. “Talking to people about how they want to approach Game 1, Game 2, Game 3, you can see nobody is thinking beyond tomorrow. Everybody understands they've got a new job to do.”
Tulsky is heading into his third season as general manager, and the run of consistency around the franchise remains striking. Carolina has reached the playoffs in eight straight seasons and has won at least one series in every one of those trips.
The injury picture includes Seth Jarvis, who is still working back after shoulder surgery in June and was placed on the injured non-roster list. The original expectation was a four- to six-month recovery, though Jarvis said during training camp that he was ahead of schedule.
“He's an incredibly driven player and he has done absolutely everything he can to keep his injury timeline as short as possible,” Tulsky said. “If it were up to him, I bet he'd be in the lineup tomorrow, but ultimately it's up to his body and the medical staff. We'll see over the coming weeks how the finishing touches on his rehab go and when he's ready to go.”
The other major offseason storyline involves defenseman Alexander Nikishin, who remains an unsigned restricted free agent and is not on the training camp roster. Nikishin played 81 regular-season games last season and finished with 11 goals and 22 assists for 33 points.
“We're trying to find a resolution,” Tulsky said. “He has largely kept things out of the media, and I want to be respectful and make sure that when players talk to me, they know it's just between us.
And so if they're not talking to the media, I'm not going to either. Both sides are trying to find a resolution and figure out how we go forward from there.”
Tulsky also sounded bullish on a pair of prospects who turned heads in preseason: Bradly Nadeau and Felix Unger Sörum. Both earned his trust and, in his view, have already done enough to be part of the team this season.
“They both played extremely well in the preseason, did everything they could, earned a ton of trust from Rod, and I know they will be here this season,” Tulsky said. “I don't know if it will be 15 games or 70, but they're clearly ready.
“That being said, we had a lineup of skaters at a ring ceremony last night, and it's a tough team to crack right now.”
In goal, Carolina is opening with three netminders: Brandon Bussi, Pyotr Kochetkov and Cayden Primeau. Bussi and Kochetkov are expected to form the top tandem after Frederik Andersen left during the offseason, while Primeau forced his way into the discussion with a strong camp.
“The mechanics of an opening-night roster are a little complicated,” Tulsky said. “We have a trust in him, and he's an important part of our organizational depth at the position. And so we're gonna go with three goalies and see where we go.”
Tulsky also addressed Kochetkov’s new deal, saying the fit on both sides made sense because of the way the goalie plays.
“He's an important part of our team, he's played well for us, won a lot of games, plays an aggressive style that really fits with the way we play,” Tulsky said. “We saw an opportunity to get a deal done that both sides were happy with to take this off our plate and move forward.”
And then there is the opener itself, a Tuesday matchup with the Florida Panthers at 5 p.m. Carolina’s first opponent is a familiar one: Florida won championships in 2024 and 2025, missed the postseason in 2026, and eliminated the Hurricanes in both of those title runs.
“They're a great team and we've had some great battles with them over the years,” Tulsky said. “I think last year's Cup is ours until the puck drops tomorrow, and then it's up for grabs.”
Jordan Staal remains Carolina’s full-time captain for a seventh straight season since taking the role in 2019. Sebastian Aho, Jaccob Slavin and Jordan Martinhook are the alternates.
In Other News...
Nikishin Situation Is Turning Into A Serious Hurricanes Standoff
Alexander Nikishins future has become one of the more intriguing roster matters hanging over Carolina this summer. The 21-year-old defenseman remains an unsigned restricted free agent, and his name has surfaced in trade conversations with multiple NHL teams, including the Rangers, Blues and Predators. He also recently changed agents to Paul Theofanous, a sign the situation is still very much in motion as the Hurricanes weigh what to do next.
What makes this especially delicate for Carolina is the level of interest it appears to be drawing and the price attached to it. The Hurricanes are not treating Nikishin like a movable depth piece, which helps explain why the talks have been so slow to move anywhere meaningful. With a pending trade request still in place and no resolution yet on the contract side, this has turned into the kind of standoff that can linger until one side finally gets close enough to its number to blink. [Read more 🡒]
Hurricanes Trade Twist Could Still Open The Door To A Bigger Upgrade
The ripple effects of Carolinas search for upgrades may not be done yet, even after the clubs trade discussions with the Rangers over Alexander Nikishin came apart. For a team still looking to position itself for the long season ahead, that kind of near-miss can matter as much as any completed move, especially when the market around the league remains active and other contenders are still weighing their own changes before opening night.
Montreal is among the teams being linked to pre-opener trade possibilities, with Columbus forward Kirill Marchenko mentioned as a target, while Edmonton is also canvassing the market for a right-shot center and has been connected to Kirby Dach and Shane Wright. For Carolina, the bigger question is whether the Nikishin talks were a one-off detour or a sign the Hurricanes are still circling a larger swing that could reshape their blue line if the right opportunity surfaces. [Read more 🡒]
Hurricanes Just Reopened A Frustrating Bradly Nadeau Debate
The Hurricanes opened the season by trimming their roster and sending Bradly Nadeau back to the Chicago Wolves, a move that instantly revived one of the clubs more frustrating questions about the 21-year-old forward. Nadeau has already gotten a taste of the NHL and has shown enough offense in the AHL to make this a real developmental conversation, not just a routine paper move.
What makes the decision harder to ignore is the timing. Carolina had an opening on the NHL side because of Seth Jarvis offseason shoulder surgery, yet the team still chose to start Nadeau in the minors. For a prospect who has already flashed scoring ability at both levels, the assignment raises the same issue all over again: whether the Hurricanes are maximizing his growth by keeping him in Chicago, or leaving a ready-looking winger waiting for another chance. [Read more 🡒]