Carolina Hurricanes will Have Good Goaltending, but They Have to be Patient
By Brett Finger
The downfall of Carolina Hurricanes goalie Cam Ward has added more pessimism to the 2015-2016 season, but the future in net is still bright.
The Carolina Hurricanes are in a 4-way tie for last place in the NHL in points, and the biggest issue as of late has been the lack of consistency between the pipes.
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Over the past 6 outings, the Canes have allowed 25 goals. That is 4.17 goals against per game. The club has been fortunate enough to pick up 2 wins in that time, thanks in large part to their defense and their surge of offense.
Dating back to November 27, the beginning of said 6-game stretch, the Hurricanes have allowed just 151 shots. That is 25.16 shots against per game, which ranks near the top of the league.
Carolina goalies have a save percentage of .835 over the past 6 games. That is lower than any goalie’s save percentage that has played in the NHL this season. Calvin Pickard of the Colorado Avalanche, who has played in 2 games this season, has the lowest save percentage in the NHL at .840.
If you take a look at goalies that have played in 10 games or more, the Canes goalie situation looks even worse. Of those qualified goalies, the lowest save percentage is that of Edmonton’s Cam Talbot who has a .889 save percentage. Cam Ward is 2nd worst at .893. Eddie Lack has just 9 games played this season, so he is 1 game away from qualifying. When he does qualify, he will have the lowest save percentage, barring a miraculous effort in his next game.
The goalie troubles in Carolina have been well documented. We even touched on it yesterday.
Things are undoubtedly bleak, but there is a future for the Canes in net.
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Eddie Lack has yet to start in two consecutive games this season. His numbers are worse than Cam Ward’s, but given his sample size and Bill Peters’ apparent disinterest in giving him more games, that should be taken with a grain of salt.
It is difficult for a goalie to get into a rhythm when they just aren’t playing, and Lack has been finding this out the hard way in his first season in Carolina.
It’s inevitable that, eventually, the Hurricanes will have to stray away from Ward and look to see what they have in Lack. That means that they’ll have to keep putting him in, even if he doesn’t have a standout game or the club loses.
To be fair, the Swedish goalie hasn’t showed much promise in his limited action. He is 1-6-1 with a 3.50 goals against average and a .863 save percentage. Those numbers are garbage, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t deserve more looks.
He is just 27 and he has a lot of NHL hockey ahead of him. The team needs to find out what they have in him prior to the 2016 NHL Draft in June.
If Eddie Lack gets consistent starts and continues to underperform, then it would be a wise move to use one of the team’s first round picks on a stud goalie with a bright future. That is also why moving Eric Staal and getting another first round pick for 2016 seems like a no brainer. They already have 2 first round selections – their own and Los Angeles’. The Kings have turned things on after a slow start, so their pick will likely be in the 2nd half of round 1. They are currently dominating the Pacific Division out in the Western Conference.
Adding another goalie to an already talented goalie prospect group would be smart, because while there is talent in the system for the team in between the pipes, none of them are sure things.
Daniel Altshuller, a 2012 3rd round pick, struggled in his rookie season last year in the ECHL. He posted a 3.21 goals against average and .881 save percentage in the regular season, and then he dropped off more in the playoffs, recording a 3.34 goals against average and .881 save percentage. This year, however, he has really turned things around. In 12 games for the Florida in the ECHL, he has a 1.51 goals against average and .943 save percentage.
Altshuller, 21, is a big goalie at 6’3″, 205 lbs, and if he continues his hot play in the lower leagues this season, he could throw himself into the goalie mix within the next 3-4 years. He uses his size and positioning to his advantage, and he is finally starting to turn the corner and looks like a player of value for the Canes down the road. The next step for him will be proving he can play well at the AHL level. Whether he gets that chance this year or next year has yet to be seen. I heir on the side of letting him finish the year in the ECHL. That’d let him finish out his strong season and build confidence. Then you can give him a shared starting job in the AHL next year.
Alex Nedeljkovic, Carolina’s 2nd round pick in 2014, is a much different goalie than Altshuller. He is a small, quick goalie that uses his positioning and athleticism to his advantage. He stands at just 6’0″, 190 lbs, but that didn’t stop him from being one of the top ranked goalies in the 2014 draft.
Carolina Hurricanes
His numbers in the OHL have fallen off considerably since his draft year, but that can’t be placed fully on him. He had a 2.88 goals against average and .925 save percentage in his first full season in 2013-2014. He was anchoring a strong team in Plymouth. The team fell off as a whole following that season. His numbers dropped in the process. He was playing behind a dreadful team for two and a half years as the Plymouth Whalers moved to Flint and became the Firebirds.
On Monday, Nedeljkovic and fellow Canes prospect Josh Wesley were traded to the Niagara Ice Dogs, a team that currently sits at 15-11-2. Nedeljkovic is also a member of the Team USA preliminary World Junior Championships roster, proving again that his talent and potential are worth recognizing. He projects to be a starter at the NHL level.
Callum Booth is also an interesting goalie prospect for a lot of reasons. He wasn’t a highly touted prospect in his 2015 draft year. He was selected by the Carolina Hurricanes in the 4th round. He has good size at 6’3″, 199 lbs at the age of 18. Obviously, he has a lot of developing to do, but he has put up good numbers at points in the QMJHL with the Quebec Remparts.
He had a strong post season in 2015, in which he had a .904 save percentage and 2.49 goals against average in 4 appearances.
His regular season performance hasn’t been as impressive given his goals against average north of 3 and his save percentage under .900, but still there is time for him to grow as a goalie, given his young age.
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The moral of the story is that the Carolina Hurricanes aren’t doomed in net. They have a goalie in Eddie Lack that could turn into something special if he is given the playing time, they have several high picks in the upcoming draft that could be used on goalie help, and they have multiple goalie prospects already in the system that project to be NHL-quality talent in the future.
Is Cam Ward the answer for the Canes? No, but there are some other answers that could work for the NHL’s worst team when it comes to goaltending.