Why did Hurricanes goalie Frederik Andersen re-sign in Carolina? ‘I like our chances’
Frederik Andersen stood in the north crease before Friday’s preseason game at PNC Arena, a goaltender more than content to be there.
The Carolina Hurricanes were about to face the Nashville Predators in their sixth and last exhibition game. Andersen was the starting goalie, just as he will be Wednesday when the Canes host the Ottawa Senators on opening night to start the 2023-24 season.
The Canes ended their preseason schedule with a 4-1 win, getting goals from Teuvo Teravainen, Seth Jarvis, Martin Necas and Michael Bunting. Andersen was smoothly efficient in net, making some hard saves look routine, facing 23 shots and allowing the goal when Yakov Trenin’s shot glanced off Jordan Staal’s skate in front of the crease.
“It was good to see live action and try to get a good feel for it again,” Andersen said after the game. “I just tried to see the puck, save the puck.”
Andersen chose to stay: ‘I like our chances’
Andersen could have left the Hurricanes after last season. He was due to be an unrestricted free agent, able to sign with anyone and at any price.
But Andersen said it wasn’t about “chasing a couple of more dollars” at this point in his career. It’s more about winning a Stanley Cup.
“Although it can be significant money when you look at it, I like it here,” he said in an N&O interview last week. “I like our chances. I think the team here has been really good for a long time. The culture we have here is something where we put a team on the ice that wants to win and plays for each other.
“That’s what it takes to win. There are a lot of teams that can win, but I like our chances.”
A few months ago, Andersen skated off the ice dejected as the Canes’ Stanley Cup playoffs came to a frustrating end. Carolina had been beaten in the Eastern Conference final, ousted in four straight games by the Florida Panthers.
The first game took four overtimes. The second also went to overtime. But when all was said and done, the Panthers had won all four games and were moving on to play for the Cup while the Canes headed into their offseason to decide what needed to change.
It wouldn’t be the goaltending. Andersen re-signed. Antti Raanta, another pending UFA, re-signed. The band — Andersen, Raanta and Pyotr Kochetkov — was staying together, at least for another season.
“To me, keeping all three is great, especially in today’s NHL where teams change,” said Andersen, who signed a two-year deal on July 1 that pays $3.4 million per season.
Hurricanes’ goalie rotation
All three should get work. Andersen started 34 games last season as injuries again sidelined him. That came after playing 54 games in 2021-22, his first season with the Canes.
At 34, with a history of knee issues, Andersen realizes he will no longer play 66 games in a season, something he did twice with the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Plus, he said, the NHL game has changed over the past four or five years, adding to the stress.
“Playing 65 back then is similar to 55 now in terms of workload with how much east/west (play) there is now,” he said. “Everyone is getting so quick and skilled offensively that the game is more taxing. The base of guys playing 66 or like I did or 70 games, there’s only a few who can do it now.
“If I were to bet, I’d probably say the (goaltending) trend is to go toward a 1A and 1B the way the game is going. It’s so offensive-minded.”
Canes coach Rod Brind’Amour likes having his three options.
“We know what we have in there,” he said this week. “The workload issue, we know one guy is not going to carry the whole load. We’ve got two good ones and we’ve got a third guy sitting here ready to take whatever he can get. So I think we’re in good shape.”
‘The beauty of hockey’
After missing the playoffs his first season in Carolina with an injury, Andersen started nine playoff games for the Hurricanes last season. His goals-against average: 1..83.
That kind of number can win a Stanley Cup for a team – in the right situation. The Vegas Golden Knights topped the Panthers for the Cup as goalie Adin Hill had a 2.17 playoff GAA. .
But the Panthers’ Sergei Bobrovsky was the best goalie in the Eastern Conference final. All four games were close and “Bob” was at his best, the edge, in getting Florida to the Cup final.
“That’s the beauty of hockey,” Andersen said. “We hit some posts and then they go down and score in the first game. The next three easily could have flipped our way and it didn’t go.
“If we keep pounding the rock, we can put ourselves in position to try to succeed again. I think we’re jelling already. The new guys seem very comfortable right way, which is important. I like our group.”
This story was originally published October 9, 2023 at 5:30 AM.
