In The Crease: Now What For The Canes?

RALEIGH, NC. - The start to the Carolina Hurricanes' 2023-24 regular season has been unfortunately riddled with injuries.

Not that anyone needs a refresher, but Andrei Svechnikov, Sebastian Aho, and Brett Pesce have all missed time in the first 12 games due to injuries, and on Monday the team's situation in net was flipped on its head.

In a surprise announcement to start the day, the team's public relations department announced that free agent netminder Jaroslav Halak would be joining the team on a professional tryout (PTO) because Frederik Andersen was dealing with a medical issue.

During the afternoon hours, the team then released a statement that Andersen is dealing with blood clotting, sidelining him indefinitely.

So, now what?

The team will presumably lean on Antti Raanta for the foreseeable future, and early this evening Pyotr Kochetkov was recalled from Syracuse (AHL).

"My approach pretty much stays the same," Raanta shared when asked about the situation following Monday's practice. "It's obviously unfortunate that Freddie is going to be out for a while, but the game keeps going and it's still early in the season. We'll go one day at a time and try not to think too far ahead."

Raanta, who is 3-1 this season, has earned back-to-back victories after wins over the San Jose Sharks and New York Islanders.

Including a 20-save shutout in the first of those two outings, and a massive save in overtime to aid in the win on Saturday, the veteran Finn says that he's feeling more comfortable with each game played this season.

"You start feeling better, hitting your spots, and making the saves you need to make," Raanta said of getting into the flow of the season. "The movements, the tracking, and the rhythm all have gotten better. Your confidence gets high and you just try to normalize everything in practice."

Although the sample size is still small, the 34-year-old has a .916 save percentage at even strength this season.

Why Bring In Halak If Kochetkov Is Available?

A veteran of 17 NHL seasons, Halak provides the Canes with an insurance policy given the uncertainty of how long Andersen will miss.

Raanta and Kochetkov will presumably be the one-two punch for the next little bit, but management knows perhaps better than anyone that injuries can happen at any time.

Hypothetically, what if one of Raanta or Kochetkov goes down tomorrow against Buffalo?

The team would be left with the healthy one of those two options, and Yaniv Perets, who has played a grand total of four professional games - all at the ECHL level.

Putting a young goaltender in a position where he'd need to play at the NHL level would not be the best practice, thus, the bringing in of Halak.

Would Halak Need To Sign A Contract To Play A Game?

Yes.

Signing a PTO allows the veteran to practice with the Canes, but to appear in an actual contest, he would have to be signed by the team.

What Does Halak Think About The Situation?

Finding out on Saturday that his services would be needed in Raleigh, the Slovakian-born netminder was thrilled about getting the chance to play again.

His agent, Allan Walsh, shared this summer that the netminder was, "100% committed to playing in the 2023-24 season." Unfortunately, the phone hadn't rang for him until a few days ago, but now he has another opportunity to showcase what he's got in his 18th season.

"You never want to see anyone get hurt, but at the same time I was excited that I got a call," Halak said as he spoke to reporters on Monday. "I'm here and we'll see what happens."

Skating and staying ready for his opportunity, Halak was residing in the Boston area with his family. Saying that he's got no expectations as to what happens in this current situation, he's played to just be closer to playing in the league once again.

Sitting at 295 NHL wins, the veteran netminder has a desire to reach the close milestone and lift the 35-pound silver trophy that has escaped him to this point in his career.

"I'm still motivated to get to 300 [wins]. It's one of those [personal] goals." he continued. "Obviously I want to win a Stanley Cup, that's a team goal. But like I said, it's step by step, day by day, and we'll see what happens."

A former teammate of Dmitry Orlov from their time together in Washington during the 2013-14 season, Halak has played for seven different teams since 2006.

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