Hurricanes re-claim Cayden Primeau off waivers from Maple Leafs

A masked man is heading back to Raleigh.

On Saturday, the Carolina Hurricanes re-claimed goaltender Cayden Primeau from the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Primeau was placed on the wire by the Maple Leafs on Friday. It came not long after the team announced that netminder Joseph Woll is set to return to the ice and will be joining the Marlies on a conditioning loan.

The Farmington Hills, Mich. native comes back to the Hurricanes a little over a month after he was put on waivers by the team prior to the regular season. The Leafs claimed him in order to fill the hole left behind after Woll took a personal leave of absence. Primeau’s signing rights were traded by the Montreal Canadiens to the Hurricanes in late June, leading to him signing a one-year contract with Carolina. The deal carries a cap hit of $775,000.

The Hurricanes have sent Primeau down to their American Hockey League affiliate, the Chicago Wolves. Carolina currently has Frederik Andersen and Pyotr Kochetkov as its tandem, with Brandon Bussi seeing game action while Kochetkov nursed an injury earlier this season.

Primeau made just three starts this season behind Stolarz in Toronto. After picking up victories against the Nashville Predators and Buffalo Sabres in his first two appearances, the former Northeastern Husky gave up six goals in a loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets on Oct. 29. He has posted a 4.30 goals-against average and a .836 save percentage.

Across seven NHL seasons, Primeau has appeared in 58 games, posting a record of 15-25-7, with a 3.73 GAA, a .882 SV% and two shutouts.

Most of Primeau’s pro career has been spent in the AHL. Outside of being with the Habs for the entire 2023-24 season, the 26-year-old has appeared in 149 regular-season games with the Laval Rocket. He has a record of 84-44-18, with a 2.60 GAA, a .912 SV% and 13 shutouts. He’s also 12-11 in 24 Calder Cup Playoff games, with a 2.50 GAA, a .920 SV% and one shutout.