The Carolina Hurricanes are on the hunt for a starting goaltender yet again, as previous netminders Petr Mrazek and Curtis McElhinney have made it clear they’d like to test the open market during Free Agency.
Here we are again, Caniacs. Not a very enviable situation to be in, although this time around it doesn’t seem to be as bleak. Last year, the Hurricanes gave Petr Mrazek a chance to be a starting goaltender after picking him up on a reasonable trial contract of $1.5M for a 1-year deal.
The Hurricanes also claimed Curtis McElhinney off of waivers from the Toronto Maple Leafs completely free of charge back in October of 2018 as well. Both goaltenders were a huge reason in the Hurricanes meteoric rise in the latter half of the 2018-19 season, as well as the Hurricanes unexpectedly deep playoff run that ended just over a month ago.
Both Mrazek and McElhinney have expressed interest in testing the open market during Free Agency after July 1st; this doesn’t mean they are not interested in re-signing in Raleigh. Simply that they are gauging their worth, and testing other teams to see if they’d be a good fit. Either of the two could still circle back around and sign a deal in Raleigh, so don’t sell the farm just yet.
According to Don Waddell as recently as today, the Hurricanes are still actively talking to both Petr Mrazek daily, and occasionally with Curtis McElhinney. There is still plenty of time to come to a deal, but nothing is set in stone yet.
In the event that neither Mrazek nor McElhinney come back to Carolina, the Hurricanes still have quite a few options. AHL superstar, and Calder-cup winning Alex Nedeljkovic is more than ready to draw into an NHL roster. Recent pickup from the Chicago Blackhawks Anton Forsberg is more than likely his replacement at the AHL level.
That being said, the open market has quite a few options available in the goaltending department, and the Hurricanes have plenty of cap space to play with. Disclaimer before we begin: my take on goaltending and who we should pick up may be different than yours, and that is perfectly okay.
Keep in mind that I am operating under the assumption that Mrazek/McElhinney aren’t coming back, Nedeljkovic will be serving as backup, and Forsberg will be serving as his replacement in Charlotte.