RALEIGH, N.C. — Nikolaj Ehlers put the whole players-don’t-want-to-play-here narrative perpetuated by the summary departures of Jake Guentzel and Mikko Rantanen quickly to rest by taking less money to sign with the Carolina Hurricanes.

That was actually the least of what the arrival of the skilled Danish winger did for the Hurricanes last week. It capped off a wild few days that started in disappointment, veered into panic and eventually landed on triumph. At one point, coming out of the draft, there was a chance the Hurricanes went into the opening of the free-agent window with oodles of cap space and a fistful of draft picks and came away with nothing.

Instead, they beat out other teams for Ehlers’ signature, landed defenseman K’Andre Miller in a trade with the New York Rangers and managed to upgrade their roster in what may have been the worst trade and free-agent markets in recent memory — a wild turnaround from where things stood the night of June 30.

The draft had passed quietly across the league, with only a handful of meaningful trades on a weekend that usually serves as the unofficial kickoff to offseason action. With few teams willing to part with quality players and a big bump in the salary cap relieving any financial pressure, even teams like the Hurricanes willing to part with first-round picks found buyers lacking.

They ended up using all of their draft picks — making the ritual trades down for more picks and even one trade up to take a Russian defenseman who had slipped as far as he was going to go — but came away with nothing to improve their roster immediately.

Things only got worse from there. As July 1 approached, target after target went off the board, officially or unofficially, especially the right-shot defensemen the Hurricanes coveted. Defenseman Evan Bouchard, a restricted free agent and potential offer-sheet target, re-signed with the Edmonton Oilers. The New York Islanders’ Noah Dobson, was sent to the Montreal Canadiens in a sign-and-trade deal. Aaron Ekblad re-signed with the Florida Panthers.

The Hurricanes also considered a potential offer sheet — or the threat of it to force a trade — for Miller, who as a left-shot defenseman would require some shuffling on the blue line but had the size and skating ability the Hurricanes wanted and would potentially fit their system better than he did with the Rangers, but the Rangers appeared committed to sending him out of the division.

It became clear, meanwhile, that winger Mitch Marner was headed to the Vegas Golden Knights, which made Ehlers the Hurricanes’ top forward target. But even that was no certainty as he became the top player available on the market. Interest in Ehlers surged.

All of which left the Hurricanes in a bit of a quandary as July 1 dawned. For the first time in years, they had all the assets and cap space they needed to make a big move, but faced the grim possibility of coming away with nothing.

Almost an hour into the free agent window, the first rumors broke of a Miller-to-Carolina trade. The Hurricanes put together a package of a first-round pick, second-round pick and prospect defenseman Scott Morrow, a deal too good for the Rangers to refuse, but they also wanted to make it a sign-and-trade, because the Rangers could re-sign Miller for eight years but the Hurricanes could only go seven.

Ehlers’ camp, meanwhile, let it be known that he wanted to take some time to consider his options. That wasn’t the worst news for the Hurricanes, who felt good about their chances, but it did mean they weren’t getting an answer that day.

A scheduled 3 p.m. press conference with general manager Eric Tulsky was pushed back to at least 4 p.m., then 5 p.m., then beyond. At 6:54 p.m., the Hurricanes formally announced the Miller trade, giving them a foundation piece on the back end on a long-term contract.

Two days later, Ehlers made his choice: Frederik Andersen, who once said “the odds are against” ever having a Danish teammate, now had one. The Hurricanes had landed two of their top targets. (Naturally, the reaction on Canadian sports radio was to assess whether Ehlers wanting to play in a “quieter market” was a character defect.)

There’s still the matter of getting better at center, an area where no viable options have yet to present themselves. The Hurricanes had viable offers for Jesperi Kotkaniemi, but didn’t want to make a move without a replacement in hand. With Ehlers’ arrival giving them more quality on the wing, it’s also possible they try Seth Jarvis or Logan Stankoven there at some point.

They still have $10 million in cap space to make another move if one presents itself, but there’s also no question the Hurricanes got better last week, and without breaking the bank to do it — from nothing to something in the space of 72 hours.

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