Hurricanes sign Viktor Neuchev to one-year contract
The Carolina Hurricanes signed forward Viktor Neuchev to a one-year, two-way contract on Friday, PuckPedia reported.
According to PuckPedia, he will make $850,000 at the NHL level and $90,000 in the minors.
The 22-year-old winger spent the 2025-26 campaign with both the Rochester Americans and Chicago Wolves of the American Hockey League. Neuchev was acquired by the Hurricanes in a trade last January that sent defenseman Gavin Bayreuther to the Buffalo Sabres.
In 64 combined games, he scored 10 goals and added 15 assists for 25 points. He also had two goals and six assists for 10 points in 21 playoff games, helping the Wolves reach the Calder Cup Final.
In three AHL seasons, Neuchev, a native of Chelyabinsk, Russia, has 28 goals and 47 assists for 75 points in 160 career regular-season games.
Neuchev was taken by the Sabres in the third round of the 2022 NHL Entry Draft. Before moving to North America, he played in several leagues within Russia’s domestic system, including the KHL, VHL and MHL.
In two KHL seasons with Yekaterinburg Automobilist, he had four goals and eight assists for 12 points in 58 games.
He spent the most time in the MHL, Russia’s top junior league, playing parts of three seasons with Yekaterinburg’s development squad. He recorded 54 goals and 42 assists for 96 points in 104 career games.
The Hurricanes finished the 2025-26 regular season with a mark of 53-22-7 and 113 points, the best record in the Eastern Conference and second-best in the NHL. They would go on to defeat the Vegas Golden Knights in the Stanley Cup Final to win their second championship in franchise history.
