Friday afternoon, the Carolina Hurricanes announced that right-handed defenseman Kyle Masters and a 2026 4th Round Pick had been acquired from the San Jose Sharks in exchange for a 2027 5th Round Pick.
Masters, who was drafted in the fourth round by the Minnesota Wild in 2021, has spent his entire professional career in the minor leagues, with 35 games played in the AHL and 69 games played in the ECHL.
In October 2025, the Sharks acquired him from the Wild in exchange for Oskar Olausson, but he only spent 10 games in the Sharks’ ECHL-affiliate, the Wichita Thunder, before suffering a knee injury, which is expected to leave him benched for the remainder of the season, the final on his contract.
Sadly, injuries have been no stranger for Masters. When playing for the WHL’s Kamloops Blazers in the 2023 Memorial Cup (led by current Hurricanes centerman Logan Stankoven), Masters was taken off the ice on a stretcher after being sent into the cornerboard spine-first. He made a full recovery but was unable to finish the tournament.
Ultimately, the Hurricanes’ trade with the Sharks seemed to be for less of a ‘who’ and more of a ‘what’.
The Sharks, who had reached the 50 contract limit, were caught between a rock and a hard place as the latest Sharks mainstay, Michael Misa, prepared to play his 10th NHL game, which would effectively burn the first year of his entry-level contract and bring the number to 51.
The price for dealing Masters’ contract came at the expense of downgrading their own 2026 4th round pick to a 2027 5th round pick. Ultimately, a good deal for both teams.
