The Carolina Hurricanes have placed goaltender Frederik Andersen on injured reserve due to a blood clotting issue, the team announced Monday. Here’s what you need to know:
- Hurricanes president and general manager Don Waddell said in a statement, “there is currently no timetable for his return, but we are confident that Freddie will be able to make a full recovery.”
- Carolina has recalled goaltender Pyotr Kochetkov from the AHL’s Syracuse Crunch and brought in free agent Jaroslav Halak on a professional tryout.
- Andersen has posted a 4-1-0 record with a 2.87 goals-against average and .894 save percentage through six games this season.
- Carolina (7-5-0) sits third in the Metropolitan Division and hosts the Buffalo Sabres on Tuesday.
An update on Freddie Andersen pic.twitter.com/UDQPHmlEt1
— Carolina Hurricanes (@Canes) November 6, 2023
How Carolina will manage in his absence
Losing Andersen is an obvious blow to the Hurricanes’ goalie depth. It helps that the team has other options in Kochetkov and Antti Raanta at the ready, plus Halak is joining the organization as well. But that pair of netminders struggled last month when they had to step up in Andersen’s absence.
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As it stands, Andersen is the only Canes’ goalie to be above average relative to his workload in the early goings of the season.
What works in Carolina’s favor is that they’ve managed without Andersen in past seasons when he’s been sidelined. Last year was a prime example of that — when Raanta and Kochetkov stepped up to shoulder the starting workload together. Those two played about 62 percent of the workload last year for the Hurricanes.
What also helps the Hurricanes is that they’re one of the stingiest teams in the league back in their own zone. At five-on-five, they conceded the lowest rate of shot attempts against and are top-three in expected goals. It’s going to be even more important now that the team protects the crease to give their goaltenders the best chance to succeed, and that’s a task that comes with even more hurdles considering the fact that they’re short-handed on defense with Brett Pesce injured.
There are obvious challenges ahead for the Hurricanes, especially as a contender. But they should be built to manage them. — Shayna Goldman, NHL staff writer
Another setback for Andersen
A setback like this has unfortunately become all-too-familiar for Andersen.
He lost the net to Jack Campbell during his final season in Toronto after a knee injury limited his availability during that pandemic-shortened 2021 campaign, and he was then sidelined for the 2022 playoffs with the Hurricanes because of an MCL tear suffered late in the regular season. Last year he appeared in just 34 games — his lowest total in a full NHL season since his rookie year — because of a couple different stints on injured reserve. — Chris Johnston, NHL senior writer
Required reading
(Photo: James Guillory / USA Today)
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