Hurricanes seek deeper playoff run with additions of Andersen, Raanta
Overhaul goaltending, acquire defensemen Cole, Bear, DeAngelo after second-round elimination
© Icon Sportswire/Getty Images
2020-21 season: 36-12-8, first in Discover Central Division; lost in second round of Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Key arrivals
Frederik Andersen, G: The 31-year-old signed a two-year contract July 28. Andersen was limited to 24 games (23 starts) because of a lower-body injury last season, when he was 13-8-3 with a 2.96 goals-against average and an .895 save percentage with the Toronto Maple Leafs. … Antti Raanta, G: The 32-year-old signed a two-year contract July 28. Raanta was hampered by upper-body and lower-body injuries last season, and was 5-5-2 with a 3.36 GAA and .905 save percentage in 12 games (11 starts) with the Arizona Coyotes. …Ian Cole, D:The 32-year-old signed a one-year contract July 28. Cole scored eight points (one goal, seven assists) and had a plus-21 rating in 54 games with the Colorado Avalanche and Minnesota Wild last season. … Ethan Bear, D: The 24-year-old was acquired from the Edmonton Oilers in a trade for forward Warren Foegele * on July 28. Bear scored eight points (two goals, six assists) and was minus-1 in 43 games last season. …Tony DeAngelo, D:* The 25-year-old signed a one-year contract July 28. He had one assist and was minus-6 in six games with the New York Rangers last season. … Josh Leivo, F:The 28-year-old signed a one-year contract July 28. Leivo scored nine points (six goals, three assists) in 38 games with the Calgary Flames last season. …Derek Stepan, F: The 31-year-old signed a one-year contract July 31. Stepan scored six points (one goal, five assists) in 20 games with the Ottawa Senators last season before having season-ending shoulder surgery. … Brendan Smith, D:The 32-year-old signed one-year contract July 29. Smith scored 10 points (five goals, five assists) and was plus-3 in 48 games with the Rangers last season.
Key departures
Dougie Hamilton, D: He signed a seven-year contract with the New Jersey Devils on July 28 after tying for seventh in the NHL among defensemen with 42 points (10 goals, 32 assists) in 55 games last season. … Alex Nedeljkovic, G:A finalist last season for the Calder Trophy, awarded to NHL rookie of the year, Nedeljkovic was traded to the Detroit Red Wings for a third-round pick in the 2021 NHL Draft and the rights to goalie Jonathan Bernier on July 22. The 25-year-old was 15-5-3 with a 1.90 GAA, a .932 save percentage and three shutouts in 23 games. … Petr Mrazek, G:He signed a three-year contract with the Maple Leafs on July 28 after being limited to 12 games last season because of a thumb injury. Mrazek was 6-2-3 with a 2.06 GAA, a .923 save percentage and three shutouts. … James Reimer, G: He signed a two-year contract with the San Jose Sharks on July 28 after going 15-5-2 with a 2.66 GAA and .906 save percentage last season. … Warren Foegele, F: He scored 20 points (10 goals, 10 assists) in 53 games last season. … Brock McGinn, F: He signed a four-year contract with the Pittsburgh Penguins on July 28 after scoring 13 points (eight goals, five assists) in 37 games last season. ... Cedric Paquette, F:He signed a one-year contract with the Montreal Canadiens on July 28 after scoring seven points (three goals, four assists) in 38 games last season. … Jani Hakanpää, D: He signed a three-year contract with the Dallas Stars on July 29. Hakanpaa scored three points (two goals, one assist) in 15 games after being acquired in a trade with the Anaheim Ducks on April 12. …Jake Bean, D:He was traded to the Columbus Blue Jackets on July 23 for a second-round pick in the 2021 NHL Draft. Bean scored 12 points (one goal, 11 assists) in 42 games as a rookie last season. … Morgan Geekie, F: He was selected by the Seattle Kraken in the 2021 NHL Expansion Draft after scoring nine points (three goals, six assists) in 36 games as a rookie last season.
On the cusp
Seth Jarvis, F:The 19-year-old scored 11 points (seven goals, four assists) in nine games with Chicago of the American Hockey League and 27 points (15 goals, 12 assists) in 24 games with Portland of the Western Hockey League last season. … Ryan Suzuki, F: The 20-year-old scored 10 points (five goals, five assists) in 26 games with Chicago of the AHL last season and helped Canada finish second at the 2021 IIHF World Junior Championship, scoring four points (two goals, two assists) in seven games. … Jack Drury, F:The 21-year-old signed a three-year, entry-level contract July 7 after scoring 30 points (10 goals, 20 assists) in 41 games with Vaxjo in the Swedish Hockey League last season.
What they still need
To re-sign restricted free agent Andrei Svechnikov. The 21-year-old forward's 140 points (59 goals, 81 assists) since the start of the 2018-19 season are the most among players selected in the 2018 NHL Draft.
They said it
"We think that combo of those two guys give us the best opportunity to win hockey games and take us to where we want to get to." -- general manager Don Waddell on signing Andersen and Raanta to replace Mrazek, Reimer and Nedeljkovic as the Hurricanes goalies
Fantasy focus
Andersen should be considered a top 10 fantasy option. He is coming off a down season (NHL career-worst .895 save percentage in 24 games) but previously won at least 29 games in four straight seasons for the Maple Leafs and ranks fourth in the NHL with 149 wins since 2016-17. Andersen, who has a .915 save percentage in 393 NHL games (381 starts), is a fantasy bounce-back candidate and worth drafting among the top 50-60 overall playing behind a deep Hurricanes offense.-- Pete Jensen
Projected lineup
Andrei Svechnikov -- Sebastian Aho -- Teuvo Teravainen
Nino Niederreiter -- Vincent Trocheck -- Martin Necas
Ryan Suzuki -- Jordan Staal -- Jesper Fast
Jordan Martinook -- Derek Stepan -- Josh Leivo
Jaccob Slavin -- Brett Pesce
Brady Skjei -- Ethan Bear
Ian Cole -- Tony DeAngelo
Frederik Andersen
Antti Raanta
