The Carolina Hurricanes are, with no surprise, a good team again. They play a certain way that brings results, but goaltending has been a factor, hurting their chances at success at times over the majority of the last decade. The goaltenders on the roster right now include Pyotr Kochetkov, Frederik Andersen, and Brandon Bussi.
The Hurricanes picked Bussi up off waivers earlier this season because Kochetkov started the season on the injured reserve. The team made a decision once Kochetkov entered the lineup, as Bussi has played much better than Andersen, the expected starter to begin the season.
All three goalies are very cheap to roster and that isn’t a problem for the Hurricanes, who have plenty of cap space this season. But with three healthy goalies, most teams would send someone down to the AHL. Not the Hurricanes, who would likely lose anyone they put through waivers.
Kochetkov isn’t going anywhere and is going to play more than Andersen and Bussi for the time being. Bussi has worked for years to finally get the chance in the NHL and is taking advantage, sporting a 2.25 GAA and .916 SV% (perfect SV% on the penalty kill). Andersen, on the other hand, has a 2.96 GAA and .894 SV% on the season.
The Hurricanes are on a road trip and decided to leave Andersen at home, going with Kochetkov and Bussi as options. Bussi is 27 years old and Andersen is 36, while regularly being injured. It makes a lot of sense for Carolina to be leaning towards the younger, less injury-risk goalie who could be around for a while, rather than the veteran who misses time every year and is on another one-year deal.
Andersen should remain on the roster and get into more games this season, but limiting his time and having three options in net to use on any given night seems like the best course of action for the Hurricanes for the remainder of this season.
Photo credit: © Eric Canha-Imagn Images
