The NHL/AHL affiliation agreement between the Chicago Wolves of the AHL and the Carolina Hurricanes has been signed for a three-year period, following a full year without an AHL affiliate. The agreement will be in effect for the 2026–2027 season, starting the following season.
Wolves and Hurricanes Form a Three-Year Partnership
NHL teams typically have a relationship with an AHL franchise. NHL teams use this top-tier minor league as their farm system. An NHL team is not necessary, and it’s not always the case that an AHL team is affiliated with an NHL team because of the nature of these kinds of agreements. That’s what happened to the Hurricanes during the 2023–2024 season. Following a three-year partnership, the Chicago Wolves made the decision to become fully autonomous and separate from the NHL. In that musical chairs game, the Hurricanes were left out among 32 AHL teams and 32 NHL teams.
The rationale appeared to originate from specific hockey-related disputes between Carolina and Chicago, but it also seemed to center on the reality that NHL organizations sometimes prioritize prospect development in the AHL over winning for AHL teams. Friction may result from this. Chicago concluded that they would be happier on their own. It appears, nevertheless, that this was untrue. The Wolves placed second to last across the entire AHL. And that was following their 2022 Calder Cup victory while playing for Carolina.
Anticipating 2024–2025
It is evident from this agreement that the ownership and management groups know one other fairly well. To get some of their prospects to Chicago, Carolina even got into a sort of ad hoc working arrangement during the 2023–24 season. Ronan Seeley and Domenick Fensore were among them. Prior to signing an NHL contract with Carolina, Max Comtois actually inked an AHL contract with Chicago.
However, a major component of this new arrangement is that all hockey operations decisions made by the Wolves will be overseen by the Hurricanes. That might be significant because it might lessen some of the potential animosity that the two teams may have had in the past. Another piece of news is that Russian goaltender Ruslan Khazheyev was recently signed by the Hurricanes to a three-year contract. This, along with their recent spate of collegiate signings, seemed to point toward the possibility of an AHL agreement. In any case, Carolina should be pleased that their prospects will once more have a top-tier location to grow in North America.
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