The Hurricanes announced they’ve signed goaltender Brandon Bussi to a three-year extension. The deal is worth $1.9MM annually for a total value of $5.7MM. He was set to be an unrestricted free agent this summer, but the new deal will keep him under contract with Carolina through the 2028-29 campaign. He’ll earn a $850K salary and $150K signing bonus in 2026-27, a $1MM salary and $850K signing bonus in 2027-28, and a $1MM salary with a $1.85MM signing bonus in the last year, per PuckPedia. He’ll also carry a 10-team no-trade clause in 2028-29.
Bussi, 27, has had a dream start to his NHL career. Claimed off waivers from the Panthers at the beginning of the season to serve as the third-stringer behind Frederik Andersen and Pyotr Kochetkov, the undrafted free agent has since emerged as the Canes’ clear starting option in what’s been a tumultuous season for the rest of their crease.
While the Western Michigan product had a strong AHL track record entering the year, he didn’t have a single NHL start to his name. He’s now made 27 of them with a raucous 23-3-1 record, putting up a .906 SV% and 2.16 GAA with two shutouts. Just before the break, he broke into the top 10 in the league in terms of goals saved above expected with 11.0, per MoneyPuck.
With the struggling Andersen set to ride off into the open market this summer and Kochetkov likely done for the year with a hip injury, Carolina has a ton invested in Bussi being able to keep up that level of play. With no blue-chip prospects ready to succeed Andersen as the starter and no high-end long-term options set to be available in free agency, the Canes needed some insurance past this season as well. Retaining Bussi at such a marginal cap hit gives them that insurance with virtually no risk, even if his numbers regress and he settles back in as more of a No. 2/3 option.
Bussi’s strong career minor-league numbers suggest he’s got a good chance of being able to keep this up, though. Signed by the Bruins as an undrafted free agent in 2022, he was an AHL All-Star as a rookie while putting up a .924 SV% and 22-5-4 record in 32 games for Providence. He remained in the Boston organization until reaching unrestricted free agent status last summer, landing a two-way deal with the Panthers before being lost on waivers in training camp. In four AHL seasons before hitting the open market, he made 111 appearances with a 2.61 GAA, .915 SV%, eight shutouts, and a 63-31-13 record.
His lack of NHL experience was always going to make it hard for him to land an eye-popping cap hit on his next deal, though. Reports emerged last month that the Canes were working to get him extended. The few reasonable comparables for Bussi’s camp in the last several years all topped out in the high $1MM range on a short-term multi-year deal, so this one doesn’t push the envelope by very much.
It’s nonetheless a shrewd signing by general manager Eric Tulsky, who’s essentially given Carolina a worst-case scenario of Bussi and Kochetkov as next season’s tandem if Andersen walks and they don’t pursue an external replacement via trade or free agency. Bussi will be 31 years old when his deal is up, joining a potential 2029 UFA goalie class of Thatcher Demko, Spencer Knight, Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, and Linus Ullmark.
Excellent news for Canes fans.
And congratulations, Brandon Bussi!
Hoping his hockey nickname is ‘Elixir’.
Smart move by Carolina. Brandon Bussi has been an absolute steal of a pickup (Florida has to be kicking themselves). Bussi will be Frederik Anderson’s replacement practically after this season. The Canes will run with Bussi and Pyrotr Kocketkov moving forward starting next season as that’s an admirable goalie duo.
Goaltending has been the Canes biggest problem in recent years when It mattered most, Somehow I don’t think that will change in the playoffs.
I think he will be just as solid as he has been so far.
Still baffled that the Cats put him in waivers…
good contract for canes and nice to see bussi get some $
It seems like 1.9 million is awfully cheap. I think he could have gotten $4 million per year as an unrestricted free agent this summer.
Well … I think it’s a smart move by Carolina, since they can bury most of that cap hit in the minors if things go south. But the bottom line is that we can name one-hit wonders in goal until the cows come home; guys who were invincible at the start of their careers, and never did much after that. From Jim Carey to Andrew Hammond to Andrew Raycroft to Hannu Toivonen to Marc Denis to Sebastian Caron to any number of others: heck, I bet you guys can name ones that stick out in your own heads. Run down the list of goalies who were 1st place on the All Rookie teams the last generation, and think how many of them weren’t perennials.
Bussi may beat the rap and he may not.
I don’t expect them to regret that signing!
The only issue with him is that save percentage! .906 on a defensive structured Canes team isn’t all that impressive and come playoff time that’s only gonna get magnified as even with how defensively gifted a team is, playoffs bring out the best offense any team has played in the regular season. Just a thought.
That defensive structured team is struggling to avoid giving up high danger chances.
When the D is clicking, it’s lovely, but…
I believe the Canes are seeking a solid DMan to bolster at least the third pair.
You realize that Jaccob Slavin has only played 17 games this season right? That’s a huge part of the Canes’ defensive structure.
Save percentages have been going down for a while, you can’t hold religiously to the idea that .900 is average. This year .896 is the NHL average. Bussi is in the 76th percentile in save percentage and 98th percentile of high danger save percentage.
Bobrovsky is .871, 3.13/game 40 games
Oettinger is .897, 2.73/game 37 games
Vasilevskiy is .920, 2.11/game 37 games
Shesterkin is .913, 2.11/game 34 games
Bussi is .908, 2.16/ game 27 games. Cheap low-risk contract for Carolina, and a steal if he maintains that level of play.
The real question, IMO, is whether Kochetkov can return to 2023-2024 form after rehab from surgery.
If the Canes are not fully confident, they will certainly be in the goalie market.
Steal!