The Hurricanes bring another center in the fold in a waiver move from Edmonton

Whenever the Carolina Hurricanes can add players into the mix, they’ve rarely shied away from it. The trend continued on Monday afternoon with the team announcing that they’d claimed center Noah Philp off waivers from the Edmonton Oilers after he was placed there on Sunday.

While not a blockbuster move, it could prove to be a good low-risk move for the team as they aim for ways to stabilize up the middle. They moved Logan Stankoven back to the wing and gave Jesperi Kotkaniemi another shot on the second line in Saturday's win over Detroit.

Philp’s addition doesn’t provide the massive spark the team is looking for on the second line, but it’s a decent depth move. He has only played 30 games in the NHL, 15 of which have come this season. He has two goals and three assists in his time with the Oilers, with both goals and one of his assists coming this season. Philp has been out with a concussion, last playing on November 17 in Buffalo.

Philp is quite a story. He stepped away from hockey in April 2023, missing the entire 2023-24 season, to focus on life outside of the game. He has been up and down for the Oilers over the last two seasons, spending time in both the AHL and the NHL.

He’s a big body, clocking in at 6’3” and just under 200 lbs. Philp has produced in the dot, too, winning 57 percent of his draws. At 27 years old, he’s far from a blue-chip prospect. Still, we’ve seen the Hurricanes have some success with waiver claims in the past.

It’s anyone’s guess what this could mean for the team moving forward. It is far more likely that this move stems from the front office being a huge fan of his game and thinking he’d be a good addition to the organization. This doesn’t feel like an earth-shattering move, and it doesn’t need to be.