One of the problems with Ehlers is that he hasn’t been a consistent playoff performer, which makes some sense given his size and that he’s a bit of a perimeter rush threat. To his credit, Ehlers was much stronger during the 2025 playoffs, but it’ll take a lot more than that to prove his doubters wrong.

Nikolaj Ehlers could choose his destination on the second day of NHL free agency after becoming one of the rare top players available not to sign in the first six hours or so.