NHL franchise to go without AHL affiliate for 2023-24 season
Back in the spring, it was announced that the Chicago Wolves of the American Hockey League would be going independent and no longer be affiliated with an NHL franchise.
This move left the Carolina Hurricanes without an AHL affiliate for the 2023-24 season and it looks like they'll have to wait before they find another one.
Hurricanes General Manager Don Waddell says that the team expects to have a new AHL affiliate in time for the 2024-25 season. But it's unclear at this time if it'll be via expansion or if they'll share an affiliate with another NHL franchise.
For this coming season, the Hurricanes have no veteran forwards signed to two-way deals, which could hurt the team if they have some injury issues. A big part of the reason why teams sign veterans for two-way contracts is to call them up from the AHL in case of an injury, etc.
For their prospects on entry-level contracts, the Hurricanes will either loan them to other AHL clubs or assign them to Europe, which they've done already with Alexander Pashin going back to Russia. Meanwhile, Aleksi Heimosalmi Tuukka Tieksola, Ville Koivunen were loaned back to Liiga in Finland.
It's going to be interesting to see how a lack of AHL team affects their depth, especially when injuries occur, which is inevitable.
Source: The Hockey News
| POLL | ||
Do you think not having an AHL affiliate will hurt the Hurricanes this season? | ||
| Yes | 52 | 82.5 % |
| No | 6 | 9.5 % |
| Not Sure | 5 | 7.9 % |
| List of polls | ||
