Kochetkov returns to share the net with Bussi after a lower-body injury that required surgery limited the 27-year-old to nine NHL games last season (6-2-0, 2.33 GAA, .899 save percentage, one shutout), including none after Dec. 20.
“We're very comfortable with both of them,” Hurricanes general manager Eric Tulsky said. “Pyotr unfortunately missed a lot of the year last year, but he has done very well for us in the past and has shown that he can play consistent games in the NHL. And Brandon, obviously, got his first opportunity and ran with it this year. So, we find ourselves feeling like the two of them are both very capable.”
2. Who will step up to fill in for Seth Jarvis?
Jarvis will miss the start of the season after undergoing shoulder surgery that will require 4-6 months to recover. The 24-year-old forward led the Hurricanes in goals (32) and was fourth in points (66) last season, so they will need to find a way to replace that production. Veterans Jesperi Kotkaniemi and Nicolas Deslauriers, who were extras during the playoffs, will have an opportunity to potentially play more regularly, but rookies Bradly Nadeau, 21, and Felix Unger Sorum, 20, will also compete to fill Jarvis’ role in training camp.
“You never want to see a player go down, but it does create some opportunity to get guys into the lineup who really, by all rights, should be in the lineup,” Tulsky said. “So now the competition we will have is, who's going to earn that ice time?”
