An Argument Against a Carolina Hurricanes Goaltender Change

Excessive price tags on the trade market.

Of the names on the trade market, Carolina has been linked to Matt Murray of the Pittsburgh Penguins and Frederik Andersen of the Toronto Maple Leafs most often. Murray is a two-time cup winner entering RFA status with arbitration rights. While he did manage to beat out Marc-Andre Fleury for the Penguins starting role a few years back, he has already lost that title to Tristan Jarry.

Over the past two seasons (to compare with what Petr has done in his time with the Canes) Murray has appeared in 88 games. With an overall record of 49-25-1,  a .911 save percentage, and GAA of 2.77 his numbers aren’t that much of an improvement. In the playoffs, he has only a single win in seven games with a decline in his save percentage and an increase in goal against.

Although he is the youngest goalie on this list at 26, the reported asking price of a first-rounder is far too much to give up. When you consider what contract he’ll probably get from an independent arbitrator if it goes that far in extension talks, this doesn’t seem like smart asset management.

While the Canes have at least inquired about Murray, they appear to be more interested in Frederik Andersen of Toronto. A former Carolina Hurricanes’ draft pick, he has appeared in 112 games for the Leafs over the past two seasons. Going 65-29-14 he is among the wins leaders over that span.

While his GAA of 2.81 and .914 save percentage are a result of being on a poor defensive team. The Canes also give up a lot of high danger chances so it isn’t likely that his numbers would be much different should they go out and acquire him.

In the postseason he is only 5-7-0 with a GAA of 2.41 and a .928 save percentage. Although those numbers don’t exactly show the level of goaltender he is when he is on, the Leaf’s inability to get it done when it counts is a major reason they are considering moving on from him and looking elsewhere for an upgrade themselves.

The thought that they are still attempting to get Brett Pesce and/or the 13th overall pick back in this deal should make it a none starter for Carolina unless there are major adds on the Leafs’ side. Giving up a top-four guy signed to one of the best contracts in the league for a rental netminder who may or may not improve your team is a terrible decision no matter how you look at it.

Some other names that may be available via trades this offseason are Marc-Andre Fleury of the Vegas Golden Knights and Darcy Kuemper and Antti Raanta of the Arizona Coyotes. With Vegas reportedly having a deal in place with pending UFA Robin Lehner Fleury’s time in Vegas appears to be at an end.

Better suited as a 1B at this point in his career, having two more years left on his current deal at seven million per makes this bad choice. Although this could be a good time for the Canes to swap out a bad contract of their own, it seems like the Golden Knights may have to pay a team to take on the remainder of his current deal if they go their separate ways.

In Arizona, both Raanta and Kuemper could be on the block. While both have shown to be solid options in net, they certainly have a lot of risks.

Raanta can’t seem to stay healthy, only appearing in 45 games over the past two seasons. Should the Canes go out and trade for him I feel like it would be a lateral move at best with the potential to be much worst, and that is not even including the fact that they would give up an asset in the deal.

Kuemper on the other hand would be buying high. The only reason the Yotes were in the games against Avalanche was that he was standing on his head throughout the series. While he has had decent numbers throughout his career, the price may be far too hefty to acquire the 30-year-old netminder given the amount teams reportedly interested in him.

Looking at the UFAs, there could be a few solid options, but at what cost?

Braden Holtby’s time in Washington appears to be over and he could be had for just cap space. Looking at his numbers the past couple of seasons, he already appears to be on the decline.

At 30 years of age, he is more than likely looking for his last big payday and wanting to cash in. With that in mind, he is probably wanting close to a max term which is extremely risky to give out to any goalie, especially one on the wrong side of 30.

Over the past two seasons, he has gone 57-33-11 with a .905 and a GAA of 2.95, losing his crease to rookie Ilya Samsonov in the process. There is no doubt in my mind that whoever signs Holtby to a massive deal this offseason will regret it extremely quickly so let’s just hope that that team isn’t Carolina.

Corey Crawford is a guy that could be had on the cheap on a one-to-two-year deal max but I doubt he wants to leave Chicago. Nothing more than short term band-aid, he isn’t going to be much of an upgrade in net, if at all. At 35 he has had his fair share of injury concerns over his career adding to the risk of having him as your number one.

The final two names on this list are the most intriguing but the most unlikely to actually become available. Mentioned before, Robin Lehner reportedly has a contract extension in the works with Vegas. Coming in at five years five million per, he has been their go-to guy ever since the trade deadline.

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There is no doubt that he is a clear upgrade over what the Hurricanes have in the net now which makes you wonder why they haven’t pulled the trigger on him before given their long-rumored interest. Dating back to the past couple of summers the front office reportedly was testing the waters on both Mrazek and Lehner before opting to go with Petr.

At this year’s deadline that interest continued but yet again nothing transpired. It was reported that he is/has been seeking a longer-term deal, which could have been the turn off from the Canes perspective, but when you see the numbers of his new deal it makes you wonder.

With him having a handshake deal in place you can cross his name off the list of players making Jacob Markstrom of Vancouver the number one guy poised to hit the open market. The Canucks are going to have a difficult decision to make with Thatcher Demko, their goalie of the future, and the Seattle expansion draft looming. They can’t protect both of these guys so one of these two goalies is bound to find themselves in a new home.

Although it is highly possible they opt to sign Markstrom to an extension and figure the rest out later, there is a chance he tests the waters as a UFA. Given the number of teams interested he may sign for a bit more than what Vegas is offering Lehner. Like Holtby the kicker her would be term as he too is on the other side of 30.

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If the asking prices around the league are as high as they have been reported to be are the Hurricanes really better off making those kinds of moves? Are they better-subtracting guys like Pesce and Mrazek for Andersen or are the better with Pesce, Mrazek, and fixing their other holes?

At the end of the day what makes me think that the Carolina Hurricanes would be better off standing pat is the fact that their biggest need is actually not in net. The main reason they have lost to Boston the past two seasons is the fact that they lack grit and another top-six forward, preferably left wing. Because of this, I feel as if they should use their limited cap space and trade chips to improve these two areas.

Yes, I am well aware that it may take an asset like Pesce get that top-six guy but even then I feel as if they would still be a better team. Plus, looking ahead at the draft, Yaroslav Askarov appears to be the real deal. Should he be the guy the Canes draft, all they actually would need is a two-three year stop gap anyways.

Question for CC Readers: What do you think the Carolina Hurricanes should do with their goaltenders?