There is no beating around the bush with this one, Carolina Hurricanes netminder — or “nyetminder,” as some fans have called him — Pyotr Kochetkov is having an underrated season. Even before Frederik Andersen‘s return on Jan. 17, there were talks of the Hurricanes needing to find an elite goaltender despite Kochetkov carrying the bulk of the load again for the second-straight season. That being said, there needs to be more flowers given to the Russian netminder for keeping the Hurricanes season afloat in goal once again.
Give Kochetkov His Crown & Flowers
In the 2023-24 season, Kochetkov finished with a 23-13-4 record with a 2.33 goals against average (GAA) and a .911 save percentage (SV%). He did that while playing in 42 games, starting 40 of them, after Andersen missed four months due to a blood-clotting issue and Antti Raanta struggling. This season, Kochetkov once again took over the bulk of starts with Andersen missing over two months of games due to knee surgery.
In 30 games, he has an 18-9-2 record with a 2.47 GAA and a .904 SV%. Amongst goalies with more than 10 starts, he is tied for 16th in games played (30), tied for seventh in wins (18), tied 24th in SV% (.904), and 11th in GAA (2.47). Kochetkov, with a team in front of him that’s played somewhat-decent hockey since mid-November and has won three straight games recently, has been the rock they needed. Per the NHL Network, the league’s average SV% is coming in at .901 and Kochetkov has been above league average. Does he give up some tough goals? Yes, but all goalies this season have. Juuse Saros has been getting lit up this season for the Nashville Predators along with Igor Shesterkin for the New York Rangers at times. Not every goalie is Connor Hellebuyck, who is an outlier with his 2.02 GAA and .927 SV%.
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Kochetkov has been underrated and has stolen some games when the team in front of him wasn’t playing their best hockey. After their latest game on Tuesday, Jan. 21 where the Hurricanes won 2-1 over the Dallas Stars, Rod Brind’Amour was asked about the play from Kochetkov lately. “They were pretty solid. Obviously, our goaltending was great tonight. That’s the difference.” said Brind’Amour. “He had three or four [big saves.] Really, it was the same story as last night, where you’ve got a guy all alone in front and he was able to shut it down for us. That’s the position. We talk about it over and over and over. If our guy can be better than the other guy at the other end, we’re usually in good shape.”
Kochetkov is 10 starts and five wins away from tying his career highs in those categories, set in 2023-24. Furthermore, while he does have only one shutout this season, his best was last season with four. However, this season he does have three assists, with two of them coming in one game. While the shutouts haven’t been there, he has contributed on the stat sheet outside of the normal goalie numbers.
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The fact some still doubt his abilities shows how under-appreciated Kochetkov has been for a goaltender who has been thrown into the bulk of starts without a 1B netminder behind him. That is not disparaging Dustin Tokarski or Spencer Martin, but the Hurricanes were banking on Kochetkov and Andersen again. While a goaltending move will happen, it should be an offseason move rather than a right-now move unless things change. Overall, Kochetkov has been a solid netminder who has had tough games like all goalies do.
Scoring is up across the league and every team has star players. It is inevitable for goalies to get shelled from time to time. However, Kochetkov — for the second-straight season during his current four-year deal — has proven why he is the goalie of the present and the future. While every goalie does struggle, any team would love to have Kochetkov’s numbers. As stated in a previous article this season, the Hurricanes may have problems, but Kochetkov is not one of them.
Give Kochetkov the Keys
Andersen’s contract comes to the end of the season and he will be an unrestricted free agent. There is no idea if the Hurricanes will re-sign him for the 2025-26 season. Even if the team gets a new tandem partner for Kochetkov, he should without a doubt be the 1A next season. In his last 70 starts, he has 41 wins for a .585 winning percentage; any team would love to have him on their roster. Kochetkov has more than proven himself to be the right person for the net now and into the future.
