The 2023-24 Carolina Hurricanes are at a crossroads, or crease roads, 19 games into the season. As of this being written, the Hurricanes, before the Sunday, Nov. 26 game versus the Columbus Jackets, sit one point out of a wild card spot. The Toronto Maple Leafs and the Detroit Red Wings occupy the two wild-card spots in the Eastern Conference. However, the Hurricanes are tied with the Washington Capitals for the third spot in the Metro Division. That being said, some concerns unfortunately need to be addressed.
Hurricanes Have Hard Decision to Make
While the defense has its struggles, it has gotten somewhat better since the start of the season. Although, the most recent game versus the Tampa Bay Lightning might say something different. The Hurricanes lost on Friday, Nov. 24 to the Lightning 8-2 in a game that both the team and fans will want to forget. Defense and special teams were a couple of the main causes for concern on the night. Hurricanes captain, Jordan Staal, said after the game “They’ve got an elite power play. They got a couple of quick ones and then we were behind. In the third period, personally, my line has got to be better against their big boys. Then they scored a couple and that was it. We had the game in our hands after the first. We played really well. Special teams let us down. Our PK has got to be better.”
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Essentially, it was not a great night for the defense and special teams who have made strides over the last couple of weeks. However, the one main concern that some of the fans in Carolina might not like and/or want to address is the goaltending. While it is not all on the goaltenders, the team in front of them needs to do their jobs as well. On the flip side of that, the goalies also need to be able to make big saves when the team needs it most. Goalies have to steal games and play otherworldly hockey. This is not to say that the Hurricanes’ goaltenders are not doing that. What needs to be said is that right now, they are underperforming.
Current Goalie Climate in Carolina
Yes, Frederik Andersen has been out for a while due to the discovery of blood clots. There is still no timetable for his return for the current season. The Hurricanes right now are relying on Antti Raanta and Pyotr Kochetkov to right the ship during this turbulent time. Their only other goalie in the system is Yaniv Perets who is currently playing for the Norfolk Admirals in the ECHL. Jakob Vondras is playing well in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) with the Sudbury Wolves. The bad part is that the Hurricanes cannot touch him due to the agreement with the NHL and the Canadian Hockey League (CHL). The agreement is that once players are sent back to junior the NHL clubs cannot move them around.
As of right now before the Sunday night game versus the Blue Jackets, Raanta is ranked 74th out of 76 goalies in save percentage (SV%). He is carrying a .854 SV% after playing in 10 of the 19 games this season. However, as stated before it is not all his fault. The defense at times has left him and the other goalies out to dry. To be devil’s advocate, carrying the NHL’s third-worst SV% is not good either. He is 6-3-0 on the season and does have a shutout to his credit. He has played great hockey for the most part. When it comes down to it, the SV% and the 3.47 goals-against average (GAA) are something that cannot be overlooked.
The same can be said for Kochetkov, who had played phenomenally with the Syracuse Crunch in the American Hockey League (AHL). In the three games he played for the Crunch, he had a 3-0-0 record with a .932 SV% and a 1.63 GAA. There are some positives for how 2023-24 has gone so far for Kochetkov. However, his NHL stats are something else that isn’t really on him. He has been put into bad situations already this season with the overall team play. He is currently ranked 67th out of 76 in SV% with .875 in the six games he’s played in. As stated before, that is not all on him because the guys in front of him are not helping him out.
Related: Hurricanes’ Kochetkov Making Case For Starter Job
Just for the sake of it, Andersen is 46th in SV% with .894 in six games this season before being put on injured reserve. The 2023-24 season has not been what the Hurricanes and the fans wanted after being named the odds-on favorite to win the Stanley Cup. It is not easy for anyone to talk about possibly making moves in the goaltender position because all three goalies are beloved in Carolina. Andersen and Raanta are currently in their third season with the team. Kochetkov came in for a few games last season and fans instantly fell in love with him. The Hurricanes are currently the worst in the league in SV% with .864 as a collective. The Edmonton Oilers are next with a .869 even after horrific starts by Stuart Skinner and Jack Campbell. To put that in context, the Hurricanes in combined goals saved above expected are at minus-10.8, which is way down from what people expected coming into the season.
A Glance at the Contract Situation
When looking at the current contract situation, Kochetkov is in the first year of his current four-year deal that he signed back in November 2022. He is signed through the 2026-27 season making $2 million per year. Andersen signed a two-year deal this past offseason and will be an unrestricted free agent (UFA) after 2024-25. Raanta only signed a one-year deal that will see him become a UFA after this season. There might be a case to consider making a move in the net before the season is up. While it is a decision no one wants to consider or even execute, it might need to be done. If the Hurricanes want to make a push for a Stanley Cup this season, the goalie situation might have leaped over the concerns on defense.
It’s not certain if the Hurricanes will trade for a goalie this season. They could ride it out until Andersen hopefully comes back into the lineup. If they do not make a trade during the season, they might need to look at going big in the offseason to bring in a goalie to pair with Kochetkov in 2024-25.
2024 Free Agent Goalie Market
There are three possible options for the Hurricanes to look at in the 2024 free-agent market if they do not trade for a goalie during the season:
1. Jeremy Swayman
This option might be a longshot pick, but hear me out. Jeremy Swayman on any other team is a bonified starter with how his play has been over the last two seasons. So far in the 2023-24 season, he is 7-1-1 with a 2.28 GAA and a .927 SV%. After this season, he will be a restricted free agent (RFA) which might make this more difficult for the Hurricanes. Their best option might be to offer sheet him and see if the Boston Bruins will match it. His current contract has him making $3.475 million which is only $75,000 more than what Andersen is making now.
If Carolina does not bring back Raanta and possibly trades Andersen, there is a chance that Swayman could work with the Hurricanes. Along with Kochetkov, he could give the Hurricanes a solid tandem with both goalies being under 25 and on good contracts. Carolina could offer sheet Swayman somewhere around $4.5 to $5.5 million to have him partner with Kochetkov. Those two combined would give the Hurricanes only a $6.5 to $7.5 million cap hit which is pretty good all things considered. It will be tough to get him from the Bruins, but it’s not impossible.
2. Casey DeSmith
Overall, Casey DeSmith has gotten a bad rap when it comes to how people look at his career. While with the Pittsburgh Penguins, he was under a 3.00 GAA and was always above a .900 SV%. The 2022-23 season was the only time he was over that which was a 3.17 GAA. Other than that, he’s had pretty decent seasons for the Penguins. During the 2021-22 season, he had a 2.79 GAA and a .914 SV%. The thing that did not help DeSmith was that the team in front of him started to falter and he was left to do too much in the last couple of seasons. If the Hurricanes get the defense figured out, there is a chance that DeSmith could be one of the guys to help Carolina if he is brought in.
He will be a UFA after the 2023-24 season and is only 32 years old. If he is brought in, he could be the 1A to Kochetkov’s 1B while helping mentor him along the way. DeSmith’s current cap hit is $1.8 million with the Vancouver Canucks. This season, he is 4-2-0 with a 3.07 GAA and a .903 SV% on a very good Canucks team that’s shocking everyone in the league. An offer of $2 to $2.5 million for one or two years might work for both parties. It’ll put the Hurricanes at a cap hit of $4 to $4.5 million combined for both goalies, but it could be something that works for a couple of seasons.
3. Pheonix Copley
Just like a phoenix rising out of the ashes, Pheonix Copley could get the chance with the Hurricanes that other teams still have not given him. The North Pole, Alaska native has played some solid hockey within the Los Angeles Kings organization since joining before the 2022-23 season. He had some solid numbers with the Hersey Bears in the AHL as well as with the Washington Capitals. During the 2022-23 season, Copley was called up from the Ontario Reign and played in 37 games for the Kings. He posted a 2.64 GAA and had a .903 SV%. For whatever reason this season, he is fighting for ice time with Cam Talbot and David Rittich.
Copley will be a UFA after the 2023-24 season and his current cap hit is only $1.5 million. If the Hurricanes pick him up in free agency, they could offer the 31-year-old a two or three-year deal worth between $2 to $2.5 million just like DeSmith. The deal could work for both sides and it would give Copley a chance to be the primary starter that he should be. If anything, like DeSmith, he could be the 1A to Kochetkov’s 1B to make a young-ish tandem work in Carolina and not take up a ton of cap space. That way, it could help the Hurricanes have more flexibility in signing other upcoming free agents within the organization and have two goalies under 32 years old.
Only Time Will Tell
All in all, we have no idea what the Hurricanes will do with their current goalie situation. They could wait it out for Andersen to get back or maybe make a trade. What the deal might look like will depend on who the team goes after and who they are willing to give up. It could be a top prospect and some picks if it is someone high in caliber. However, they might just wait until the next offseason and make a decision there. Needless to say, Carolina is at a crossroads and will need to make a decision soon if they want to win a Stanley Cup.
