Workrate Hockey - June 26, 2026

The NHL silly season is in full swing, and the week leading up to the July 1st unrestricted free agency window opening is full of actual unrestricted free agents signing with their current teams in order to make the TSN broadcast on July 1st be the most boring and cringe thing you've seen since, well, the trade deadline show on TSN. If you're a Canes fan, you've been trying to drown out all of the trade talk with other teams - for the first time in 20 years (or hell, even further, because the 2006 Canes had some key UFAs), the Canes seem like they're pretty content. The team re-signed designated face puncher/team fun uncle Nic Deslauriers to a two-year extension with a $875k cap hit, essentially paying him the league minimum to practice with the team, draw in every once in a great while when playing a team that might try something stupid, and likely preside over the team's kangaroo court. Frederik Andersen is an unrestricted free agent, but the team already has two goaltenders signed in Brandon Bussi and Pyotr Kochetkov, so signing Freddy isn't an urgent priority. Mike Reilly's probably going to walk - he did his job here this past season, so the only guy who played any real NHL time who needs a contract is Alexander Nikishin, so surely the team can bang that out and move on. Yeah, about that.