Surprising NHL Team Expected to Be 'Major' Players in Free Agency

Surprising NHL Team Expected to Be ‘Major’ Players in Free Agency originally appeared on Athlon Sports.

The NHL offseason is almost upon us, with the 2025 Stanley Cup Final getting set to start on Wednesday. This summer is expected to be very active for a lot of teams, with multiple sides looking to get close to winning a title.

But one team in particular could be a major player in free agency, and that is the Carolina Hurricanes. After losing in the Eastern Conference Final again, Carolina is gearing up for a massive offseason.

Hurricanes general manager Eric Tulsky spoke about the upcoming summer, hinting at the plans of the team.

“If there’s any chance to get better, we’re going to take it,” Tulsky said during a postseason meeting with the media. “We have the full buy-in to spend to the cap if there are ways to do it to get better.

“We have so much space and such a strong team. There’s no guarantee we can find ways to spend all that money, but we’re going to spend all summer trying.”

Carolina Hurricanes center Sebastian Aho (20) and Anaheim Ducks defenseman Olen Zellweger (51) watch the puck during the third period at Lenovo Center. James Guillory-Imagn Images

It remains unknown which players would be of interest to Carolina, but they will have room to make a big splash. The expected salary cap for next season is coming in at $92.4 million.

“Our goal is to win a Cup, and our goal is to win more Cups after that and keep going,” Tulsky said. “We’re trying to build a team that can compete year after year. But competing isn’t enough. We want to win. So you’ve got to find a way to do that.”

If the Hurricanes can add some more talent, they may finally be able to get over the hump to reach the Stanley Cup Final. Carolina has a solid core in place, and it seems that they are just a piece or two away from truly contending.

This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 3, 2025, where it first appeared.

Surprising NHL Team Expected to Be ‘Major’ Players in Free Agency

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