The Carolina Hurricanes will not extend a qualifying offer to forward Jesse Puljujarvi after it was revealed he recently had double hip surgery, according to Chris Johnston. Puljujarvi will become an unrestricted free agent when NHL free agency opens on Saturday.

The 25-year-old Puljujarvi has had a disappointing NHL career to this point after the Edmonton Oilers selected him with the fourth overall pick in the 2016 draft. He has yet to score more than 15 goals in a season and injuries combined with poor performance have limited his ability to be a productive NHL player.

Puljujarvi's best season was in 2021-22 when he scored 14 goals and added 22 assists for a career-high 36 points. He finally had a fully healthy season last season, appearing in 75 games for the Oilers and Hurricanes but was still a mediocre player. He finished the season with 16 points and did not score a goal in 17 games with the Hurricanes.

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A surgery like the one Puljujarvi just had could turn out to be a career-ender, at least in the NHL. Not many teams would take a chance on a player who has not particularly stood out through six NHL seasons and recovery from one hip surgery is grueling enough, let alone two.

The Hurricanes did not see it in their best interest to retain Jesse Puljujarvi's rights, possibly because they know that he won't have many suitors in free agency. Puljujarvi is still young though and has time to make a full recovery in hopes of continuing to play professional hockey.