While it would be excessive to suggest that the Carolina Hurricanes have a goaltending crisis, their issues in the crease cannot go unnoticed. Despite being a prolific player when healthy, Frederik Andersen remains out for the foreseeable future after undergoing knee surgery in November. Of course, strong goaltending is key to any successful season and even more vital for a team with Stanley Cup aspirations. Losing Andersen handed the reins to the promising but still unproven Pyotr Kochetkov, who has been up to the task thus far but the team is lacking depth at the position.
Finding reliable goaltenders is not easy. It’s even harder to do mid-season when injuries arise and trade demand increases. As such, the Hurricanes have turned to internal options to replace Andersen, although it’s debatable whether that was the right decision.
First up to the plate was Spencer Martin, who the team claimed off waivers last season and signed to an extension after he provided some quality spot-duty performances. Unfortunately, he did not replicate that form this season and was sent to the American Hockey League after a six-game stretch where he had a 4.38 goals-against average (GAA) and a .825 save percentage (SV%). Yaniv Perets was also recalled but was never a real option and is closer to an ECHL goaltender than an NHL one at this stage.
Dustin Tokarski, You’re Up!
The carousel eventually got us here — with the Hurricanes signing 35-year-old veteran Dustin Tokarski on Dec. 2. The question remains whether or not he is a viable solution. In his debut for the club, he stopped 27 of 28 shots against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Dec. 15, which resulted in a 4-1 win. While Kochetkov started the following three games, Tokarski got into the second half of a back-to-back on Dec. 23 against the Nashville Predators, a 5-2 loss where he allowed four goals on 24 shots. While the numbers aren’t impressive, he was left high and dry by the team for much of the game and was the only reason they had any chance to win. His save on Ryan O’Reilly will be on many highlight reels this week:
What a save by Tokarski 🔥 pic.twitter.com/Aet6O4gcXs
— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) December 24, 2024
He also won a 5-2 game on the second half of a home-and-home versus the New Jersey Devils, making 21 saves in the game and generally looking solid. Unfortunately, a three-game sample size does not leave us with any definitive answers, so the stats remain key. While potentially a serviceable option to provide some respectable goaltending while the Hurricanes brass analyze and exhaust their external options, it’s hard to consider Tokarski the missing piece to the puzzle. At 35 and on his sixth NHL club, he’s a veteran of only 83 NHL games and has been credited for just 25 wins versus 47 losses in his career.
Related: Get to Know Hurricanes’ New Netminder Dustin Tokarski
Thus far, the best I can say is that he looks better than Martin did and has given the team a chance to win games — which is all they can ask for. But overall, is he good enough? Can they be confident if he has to step into the starting role if Kochetkov gets injured? The answer is likely a resounding no — so, that leaves us with the trade market.
Hurricanes Trade Options
Since the team has struggled over the past couple of weeks and the goaltending situation has started to deteriorate, the Hurricanes have been linked to netminders in the market. The three that have been floated are the Utah Hockey Club’s Karel Vejmelka, Calgary Flame Dan Vladar and Ottawa Senator Anton Forsberg. Are any of them viable options — and should they be?
Karel Vejmelka
Karel Vejmelka is easily my favorite option and would be a great fit for the Hurricanes. The best part of acquiring him would be that the team wouldn’t have to face him anymore. In six starts against the ‘Canes, he has a .922 SV%, a shutout and has always given the team a hard time. In November, he made a career-high 49 saves vs Carolina in Utah, earning his team a 4-1 win against a Hurricanes club that was red-hot.
Vejmelka, a pending unrestricted free agent, would be the perfect replacement for Andersen, who is also in the final year of his contract. He’s seven years younger and still has a lot of good hockey left at age 28. Vejmelka and Kochetkov would present the Hurricanes with a quality goaltending tandem who’d both be under 30 and can both be trusted to handle a starting workload should either player get hurt. This season, Vejmelka finally has a decent team in front of him and has responded with career-best numbers — a 2.33 GAA and a .918 SV% in 20 games – both stats rank in the top five in the league.
Of course, Utah will not be in a rush to give away a player of his quality for anything that isn’t worth their while, but the Hurricanes can be aggressive here. They have stockpiled a lot of assets in recent drafts and can comfortably move prospects or future draft capital for a player who would immediately upgrade their squad. While the price to acquire him would likely not be cheap, management should know Vejmelka would improve the roster today while also being a wise solution for the future. However, with Utah hanging around in the playoff hunt, it would not surprise me if they are reluctant to move him — so the Hurricanes may have to be patient here.
Anton Forsberg
Anton Forsberg returning to Raleigh would be a reunion, although he played just three games for the team in 2019-20. Since March 2021, he’s been a Senator, and I’ve seen Forsberg play quite a lot of hockey over the past few years. He’s also in the final year of his contract, and the Sens may be comfortable moving him as they have a couple of promising young goalies in Leevi Meriläinen and Mads Søgaard waiting for a chance.
That said, I don’t think the ‘Canes should make this trade. He hasn’t quite been the same player since suffering an MCL injury to both knees in February 2023, and although he avoided surgery, his lateral movement has not been as good as it was before the injury. Considering his quickness is what made him effective, understandably, he has been unable to recapture his previous form and has stumbled to a combined .889 SV% over the past two seasons (across 41 games). At 32, unfortunately, Forsberg’s best days are likely behind him, and I don’t see the value in giving up assets for a mild improvement who doesn’t make a ton of sense to re-sign in the summer.
Dan Vladar
I don’t know all that much about Dan Vladar, as I haven’t watched many Flames games over the past couple of seasons. His stats aren’t the most impressive, but it’s not fair to judge him solely on stats when I can’t say how the team has played in front of him. At 27, he’s in the prime of his career and has been relied on for 20+ starts in each of the last four seasons. He’s probably a fine option if it comes down to it, but Vejmelka is by far the better choice.
The good news is that the Hurricanes have options, and with Tokarski providing solid enough play thus far, the team can be patient and let the right situation develop — whether that means sticking with him or pulling the trigger on a trade. Perhaps management can hold out long enough for Andersen to return. Regardless, every option is on the table right now, and it will be fascinating to see how the situation develops.
