Carolina Hurricanes: Is it Time to Give Ned A Shot?

The AHL’s reigning goaltender of the year is patiently waiting in Charlotte for his first real chance in the NHL. Is it time for the Carolina Hurricanes to give the 24 year old a nod?

Historically, the Carolina Hurricanes have been a team known for their goaltending woes and everlasting search for a true number one netminder. During the Cam Ward era, fans have seen countless goalies come in with the promise of a 1A-1B situation with a real competition for the crease.

Over the past couple of seasons, the organization has tried everything from more veteran netminders looking to extend their careers to other organization’s younger, more promising backups. They’ve both given up small assets in hopes of an upgrade and jumped into the free agency market looking for a diamond in the rough. Yet, no matter how well the players they target played previously, the experiments have all failed.

Last season the duo of Petr Mrazek and Curtis McElhinney provided the team with a solid option each and every night for the first time in forever. In the offseason, Don Waddell and Co. made every attempt to bring both back, and for a second they were left unsure if either of them would return.

According to reports, McElhinney cut talks off with the Canes early on and wanted to pursue other options. Petr, on the other hand, went unsigned into the start of the UFA period and had the opportunity to talk contract and sign a deal with any organization. This brief period of time caused a lot of uncertainty about the future of the Carolina Hurricanes’ position just over a month after the team made a surprising run to the Eastern Conference Finals.

With the only other goalie under contract at the time being James Reimer, whom the Hurricanes had just traded for one day earlier to rid themselves of the awful Scott Darling contract, they were looking for help anywhere. Luckily, Carolina was able to agree to terms on a two-year extension with Petr, shutting out any doubt on who would be the franchise’s starter when the puck dropped for the 2019-20 season come October.

Although there was some clarity on Petr, it was widely speculated that Reimer could be flipped with the likes of Anton Forsberg and reigning AHL goaltender of the year Alex Nedeljkovic waiting in the wings. Come training camp, all three players were on the ice and battled it out for the right to back up Petr.

During the preseason, Alex had a solid showing in his lone appearance versus the Tampa Bay Lightning, stopping all 15 shots he faced. Given the organization’s commitment to doing things the right way both now and in the future, and Ned being waiver exempt this season, they opted to send him back to the Charlotte Checkers to get all the reps he could get as the go to guy once again.

From here, it was a neck and neck battle with Forsberg and Reimer that wasn’t decided until the final days of preseason. We obviously know how the story played out with James winning the spot. Flash forward to just a tad over the halfway mark of the season, and the position is once again in the spotlight.

Now it might not make much sense given that both Mrazek and Reimer have a shut out on back to back nights, but when you look at the rest of the seven game home stand, a lot was left to be desired. Touched on in a bit more detail here, the two goalies only had a save percentage over .900 once – a number that is inexcusable to say the least.

For a team with eyes set on being competitive and competing for the cup this season, something was going to have to give. While there are some external options that could come in and provide the team with a spark, it really doesn’t make much sense to give up any more assets for another goaltender with Nedeljkovic waiting in the wings for his first real chance.

While not off to the best of starts this season, going 0-4-1 in his first five, he’s been much better of late, 6-1-0 in his last seven. Although his 2.38 GAA and .909 aren’t anything to write home about, he hasn’t looked a bit out of place in his very brief NHL stint. Stopping all 17 shots he faced in relief during his first NHL game, and following that up with a win in his first start in Vancouver, Alex has shown that he can handle the NHL pace and level competition.

Given what he’s shown in the small sample size and during preseason/training camp, he certainly deserves a shot at some point this season. If Petr and James had continued to struggle, we may have seen Ned get the nod sooner rather than later. The last two games, however, may have bought the current NHL tandem a bit more time to sort things out.

The position of goaltender can be pure voodoo, and with Ned under a one-way deal next season, it only makes sense to get him some action with the big club at some point down the stretch. Given the parity of the league, the margin for error is so small. Like any position, Rod Brind’Amour and the rest of the front office should keep a tight leash on the goalies and, should they put together another string of mediocre performances full of soft goals, it very well may be time to give the reigns to Nedeljkovic for a bit to see what he’s made of.

We’ve seen younger netminders come in and take their teams on Stanley Cup winning runs out of nowhere. Jake Allen did it last year and Matt Murray in 15-16, 16-17. Who knows, maybe Alex very well could be the next young goalie to take his team all the way. After all he is in his fourth professional season and doesn’t have much more to prove in the American Hockey League.

Question for CC readers: Would you like to see Ned get a call up down the stretch?