Carolina Hurricanes: Who Won the Goalie Battle?

In the entire last month of September, multiple Carolina Hurricanes goaltenders battled over the role to backup Petr Mrazek in net. So, who has won the battle?

For quite some time in the offseason, many believed Alex Nedeljkovic was going win the backup role for the Carolina Hurricanes. Finally, after two seasons of saying “he’s ready, let’s do it” It seemed like he would get his chance, especially after a win in his only NHL start last season.

However, transactions over the last few months have put the organization management in a situation where they have to send Nedeljkovic back down to Charlotte for further development. In his lieu remained two other NHL goalies to duke it out for the back up spot.

Out of the three goalies who fought over the backup spot, Nedeljkovic was the only one who didn’t require waivers to be sent down to Charlotte. It was obvious almost from the beginning that Nedeljkovic wasn’t going to be the backup in Raleigh, especially seeing his ice-time in the preseason games get reduced.

It came down to Anton Forsberg and James Reimer, the final two. Forsberg was acquired in June from the Chicago Blackhawks, sending away Calvin de Haan in a package deal. Reimer was acquired from the Florida Panthers, sending away Scott Darling who was guaranteed a buyout. However, Reimer still has potential to be a solid goalie hence why management didn’t buy him out.

Forsberg and Reimer both looked solid in the preseason and in the training camp. Forsberg made some heads turn in preseason games like the one against the Nashville Predators last Wednesday, despite a 0-3 bout.

Ultimately, Forsberg has only played 45 career games in the National Hockey League. He doesn’t have much experience in the NHL. The Columbus Blue Jackets didn’t see too much in him and the Blackhawks moved on from him after the 2017-18 season and onto Cam Ward of all people.

Reimer on the other hand has 338 career games played, so not only did he look solid in the preseason, but he has tons of NHL experience to boot. Reimer has played with the Toronto Maple Leafs, San Jose Sharks, and the Florida Panthers. He has never dipped below a .900% and he’s only gone that low twice in his career, once in 11-12 and another last season with the defenseless Panthers.

As of yesterday, Anton Forsberg was put on waivers. That obviously means we’ve got a clear winner for now and that is James Reimer. The battle may be over, but the war, however, is not. Nedeljkovic and Forsberg are two great goalies and they’re going to tear it up in the American Hockey League. Reimer has to stay on his game, because the two goalies he’s defeated for now will continue to fight for his spot.

James Reimer is a capable goaltender. If you perhaps replace the defense that the Panthers had last season with a better one, you could see very solid numbers. Now that he has the Hurricanes defense in front of him now we can rest assured, Reimer is in good hands, which means, we as the fans, are as well.

Question for Cardiac Cane Readers: Will James Reimer put up solid numbers in the 2019-2020 season?