Carolina Hurricanes: Frederik Andersen finally signs a deal in Carolina

When he originally became part of the Carolina Hurricanes organization, he opted to go back into the draft because his route to the NHL was blocked in Raleigh. Here we are, 11 years later and Frederik Andersen has signed with the team that originally drafted him.

Yes, way back in the ancient year of 2010 Freddie was drafted by the Carolina Hurricanes in the 7th round. If I’d have told you back then that the player they picked 187th overall would be their starter more than a decade later, you would have thought that decade of service with the team was excellent, or the team was bad. Well, half of that was true for most of that decade.

Andersen would opt to go back through the draft, and he would only end up on the other side of the country when he was taken in the 3rd round by the Anaheim Ducks. It would take some time for Andersen to make his NHL debut for the franchise once owned by Disney, but in 2013-14 he would do just that for Anaheim.

In his rookie campaign, the Great Dane would put up a 20-5-0 record with a .923 save percentage and a 2.29 goals-against average. By the time he was traded out of California, his stats for the franchise had dipped a little but were still respectable. 149-74-36 record with a .914 save percentage and a 2.79 goals-against average. For a young backup, not too shabby.

At the end of the 2015-16 season, Freddie was traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs. In Anaheim, he had been a backup. In Toronto, he was going to be given a starters job. There was a lot of uncertainty, but Freddie backstopped the Leafs back to the Stanley Cup Playoffs every year he was with the organization.

His stats in Toronto progressively got worse the longer he was there though, a theme that held true in Anaheim. Perhaps this is just a player that enjoys the changes of scenery. However, he had a .918 save percentage each of his first two seasons in Toronto, and a .917 in year three. A .909 in the COVID shortened year raised eyebrows and a .895 this year meant he was expendable in Canada.

Andersen has also had to fight with a lot of injuries. One of the issues he faced in Toronto was that he was overplayed. Make no mistake about it, he played far more than he should have for that organization, and it took a major toll on his body. This shouldn’t be so much of an issue as a 1A in Carolina as opposed to taking the role of a clear starter, but nevertheless, it’s something to remember.

Frederik Andersen is a very capable goaltender. He’s probably the best goaltender the Carolina Hurricanes have ever drafted, ironically. There’s no doubt he’s got the capabilities to put it all together and sort out the issues he had in Toronto. However, there’s also a lot of questions regarding his health. Watching him in his age 32 seasons raises some uncertainty, but questions only get answered on the ice.