Hurricanes sign Aleksi Heimosalmi to one-year extension

The Stanley Cup champions have come to terms with one their restricted free agents on the blueline.

On Thursday, the Carolina Hurricanes signed defenseman Aleksi Heimosalmi to a one-year contract extension.

The deal is a two-way contract that will carry the minimum $850,000 cap hit at the NHL level.

Last season, the Finnish national had four goals and 13 assists for 17 points in 52 games for Carolina’s American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate Chicago Wolves. He then had a goal and an assist in seven games during the Wolves’ playoff run.

Heimosalmi, 23, was a second-round pick (44th overall) of the Hurricanes in the 2021 NHL Entry Draft. Following his draft year, he spent three seasons with HC Assat Pori of the Liiga, the top professional hockey league in Finland.

In 2021-22, his first season with HC Assat Pori, he had no goals and just three assists in 47 games played. In the 2022-23 season, he improved his production with four goals and 11 assists for 15 points in 45 games, before contributing a goal and two assists for three points in eight playoff games. In 2023-24, his final season with HC Assat Pori, he notched two goals and 14 assists for 16 points in 47 games.

Heimosalmi made his North American debut in the 2024-25 season, when he had five goals and nine assists for 14 points in 56 games for the Wolves.

Internationally, Heimosalmi represented Finland at the 2022 and 2023 IIHF World Junior Championships. In the 2022 tournament, he starred with a goal and six assists for seven points in seven games as Finland captured silver. In 2023, Heimosalmi served as an alternate captain, but had just two assists in five games as Finland fell to Sweden in the quarterfinals.

At 5’11” and 181 pounds, Heimosalmis is a right-shot defenseman known for his smooth skating.