After the announcement was made that the Carolina Hurricanes and the Florida Everblades were parting ways, speculation began as to who the next ECHL affiliate would be. The Hurricanes made no official announcement about searching for a new partner, and made no indications that they were set to sign, or even search for, a new affiliate.
Having only two players (Jeremy Helvig and Callum Booth) in the ECHL system, many believed that the Hurricanes would simply loan these players out to other ECHL teams, and continue unaffiliated.
Information that I have received from sources close to the team in question seems to contradict this notion.