Hurricanes can be patient on the goalie trade front
The Carolina Hurricanes are currently without starting goaltender Frederik Andersen, who underwent knee surgery recently, and is expected to return towards the end of February. While some teams would panic without their number-one goalie, the Hurricanes have given the brunt of the workload to Pyotr Kochetkov.
Kochetkov has performed well, posting a 12-4-0 on the year, with a 2.64 goals against average. There was a scary scene towards the end of November, when Kochetkov missed four games due to a concussion, but he’s managed to jump back in, and carry the load for the ‘Canes.
The 25-year-old native of Penza, Russia proved last season he’s more than capable of handling the workload, registering a 23-13-4 record, with a 2.33 goals against average, and .911 save percentage. Kochetkov’s done a great job to build off his career-best season, and showcase to the Hurricanes’ organization that he’s a strong candidate for their goalie of the future.
The Hurricanes are off to a 18-9-1 start to the year, and currently sit third in the Metropolitan Division. They rank 12th in the NHL, allowing 2.93 goals allowed per game.
On Friday’s episode of Daily Faceoff LIVE, Tyler Yaremchuk and Frank Seravalli discussed Carolina’s crease, and how aggressive the team will be on the goalie trade market.
Yaremchuk: Speaking of goaltending, Frank, let’s talk a little bit about the Carolina Hurricanes. I know Pierre LeBrun reported yesterday there could be some interest in a guy like (Anaheim Ducks) John Gibson. We’re a few days removed from the Mackenzie Blackwood deal with the Avs shoring up their goaltending, what do you think the appetite is like in Carolina to maybe shore up their crease with the injuries they’ve been dealing with.
Seravalli: I’d say it’s a situation that they’re monitoring. They were actively making a bunch of calls, maybe a week to 10 days ago. They were obviously initially very concerned with how would Pyotr Kochetkov return from his concussion, and would it take a week or a month.
Once that kind of settled down, and they knew at some point here in relatively short order, that Freddie Andersen wasn’t dealing with a blood clot that he had previously. This is a knee injury, we know at some point he’ll be back. Does Freddie Andersen sometimes take a week longer than most to rehab and return to make sure he’s 100% ready? Yes. That said, they are definitely monitoring the market.
Blackwood was out there, you have Dan Vladar in Calgary, you have Karel Vejmelka in Utah. You have John Gibson, as you mentioned. There’s a whole slew of goalies available, and basically what Carolina is looking at is the rest of the board, and saying – how many other teams are in a position where they’re actually looking for a goalie? Since Colorado has been crossed off, I’d say the list is very small.
So, what that mean is there’s more out there, than there are teams that need them, and eventually the price should come down. So, it doesn’t mean they’re absolutely going to do something, Freddie Andersen’s numbers have been great when he’s in there, but, they’re definitely keeping an eye on it.
For more on the Hurricanes trade front, Scott Laughton’s career night for Philly, and the rest of the very latest from around the NHL, watch the full episode below.