With Seth Jarvis sidelined for four to six months after shoulder surgery, the Carolina Hurricanes suddenly have a real opening to sort through before opening night. The team is 60 days away from the start of the 2026-27 season, and while most of the roster is already locked in, this injury has pushed one question to the front: who gets the chance to fill in?
Bradly Nadeau is the name many are circling. He got 12 games last season, and there’s a growing sense he could be in line for a longer run this time around. But Carolina also has another internal option sitting right there in Jesperi Kotkaniemi, and the decision is not as simple as it looks on paper.
Kotkaniemi is entering the fifth season of the eight-year, $38.56 million contract he signed in March 2022. The deal carries a $4.82 million annual cap hit, which is more manageable with the cap rising to $104 million this season.
Still, the production hasn’t matched the price tag lately. Last season, he finished with two goals and nine points in 42 games, then did not appear in any of the Hurricanes’ 19 playoff games.
He did, however, qualify to have his name on the Cup, and on July 27 he brought it to Pori and his Finnish team, Porin Assat.
His 2025-26 season was also shaped by missed time and healthy scratches, and there have been rumors that he could be shopped or even considered for a buyout. That makes the fit even murkier.
Kotkaniemi knows Carolina’s system and has played more than 42 games in a season for the club every year since 2021-22, but the bigger issue is where he actually belongs in the lineup. He was drafted third overall by the Montreal Canadiens as a potential scorer, and while he did post 18 goals in 2022-23 - his best season with the Hurricanes - the bigger offensive leap never really came.
There are still things Kotkaniemi does well. At 6-foot-3 and 213 pounds, he has the frame to be more physical, even if that part of his game hasn’t shown up consistently.
He’s also strong in the faceoff circle and helps Carolina with possession. But with Mark Jankowski locked in as the fourth-line center, Kotkaniemi looks like the odd man out down the middle.
That’s where Nadeau enters the picture. General manager Eric Tulsky made it clear after night one of the 2026 NHL Draft on June 26 that the young forward is in the mix if Carolina needs help early in the season.
Tulsky said, “[Nadeau’s] been great in the AHL. He had, sort of, two call-up stints this past year.
I thought in the first one, he looked like someone who was acclimating for the first time. In the second one, he looked like someone who was acclimated.
You could see the progression. He absolutely will be in the conversation if we need a call-up at the start of the year.
I think it would be a good opportunity for him to get some runway.”
That sounds like a player who could be asked to cover Jarvis’ absence, whether that means a spot in the top six or a third-line role alongside Jordan Staal and Jordan Martinook. Carolina has often paired younger players with those two to help them learn the system. If Kotkaniemi gets the nod instead, the lineup would need to shift again, with the possibility of him dropping to the third or fourth line and William Carrier moving up to skate with the Jordans.
So the choice is pretty plain. Kotkaniemi brings familiarity, but his role remains unsettled and his contract is still heavy for a player who was healthy scratched and didn’t dress in the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Nadeau, on the other hand, has already shown enough in the AHL to deserve a longer look than the 12 games he got last season.
Opening night against the Florida Panthers on Sept. 29 should tell the story. For now, the answer seems obvious.
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Nikishin is reportedly aiming above the $8 million-per-season range, a figure that would immediately reset expectations for a Hurricanes defenseman if it becomes the starting point in serious negotiations. What makes it even more interesting is that there still is not much clarity on the structure of the deal he wants, leaving Carolina with an important question to sort through well before the next contract cycle gets rolling. [Read more 🡒]
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For a team that has been close enough to taste a Stanley Cup Final berth, those series remain a reminder of how narrow the margin can be at that stage. Even in a rankings exercise, the same theme keeps surfacing for Carolina: when the pressure rises in the Eastern Conference finals, the Hurricanes have too often found themselves one step short of the breakthrough they were chasing. [Read more 🡒]
Hurricanes Face A Tough Alexander Nikishin Decision As Talks Drag On
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The wrinkle is that the situation is no longer just about a simple bridge deal or a routine bit of summer housekeeping. Nikishins camp is pushing for a big-ticket contract, while Carolina has to balance that ask against the rest of its roster planning and the reality that his name has already surfaced in trade conversations. For a club built on structure and patience, it is the kind of decision that can shape more than one season. [Read more 🡒]