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Metropolitan Notes: Pesce, Schmid, Foerster, Ristolainen

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Carolina Hurricanes reporter Walt Ruff writes that Hurricanes defenseman Brett Pesce has returned to team practice after missing the last two games with an illness. The 29-year-old hasn’t played since last Tuesday and is mired in a seven-game point drought in what has been a disappointing offensive season for the pending unrestricted free agent. Pesce has just three goals and four assists in 41 games after posting a career-high 30 points last season in 82 games. His defensive metrics are still fantastic as Pesce remains the Hurricanes’ best option for the difficult defensive matchups against elite competition.

Pesce could suit up tomorrow night when the Hurricanes travel to Dallas to take on the Stars in their first of three games on the road. Carolina currently sits second in the Metropolitan Division with a 30-16-5 record and has begun to pull away from the teams behind them as they are 7-3 in their last ten games.

In other Metropolitan notes:

  • The New Jersey Devils have recalled goaltender Akira Schmid from the Utica Comets of the AHL. Schmid dressed in 15 games for the Devils earlier in the season but struggled to hold onto an NHL job with a 5-7-1 record, a 3.26 goals-against average and an .893 save percentage. Schmid will serve as the likely backup to Nico Daws while Vitek Vanecek is sidelined due to a lower-body injury. Schmid was assigned to the AHL a month ago and has struggled in 12 games going 3-5-4 with an .885 save percentage and a 3.58 goals-against average.
  • The Philadelphia Flyers are dealing with a couple of minor injuries as defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen and forward Tyson Foerster will be sidelined until at least the weekend. Ristolainen has an upper-body injury and Flyers GM Daniel Briere is hoping he will be back by the weekend. Foerster has a lower-body injury and Briere is also hoping he can play this weekend as well. Ristolainen has struggled this season and has just a goal and three assists in 31 games while Foerster has posted career highs with 10 goals and 11 assists in 52 games. The Flyers take on the Devils in the Stadium Series at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford on Saturday night.

Carolina Hurricanes Announce Multiple Injury Updates

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Carolina Hurricanes goaltender Antti Raanta will likely miss “at least a couple weeks” with a lower-body injury, per head coach Rod Brind’Amour. Raanta is in the midst of a tremulous season that’s seen him placed on waivers, play two AHL games, and record a .872 save percentage in 24 NHL games. But he’s remained a pivotal piece of the Hurricanes lineup, playing in just one fewer game than the team’s de facto starter Pyotr Kochetkov, largely thanks to the string of injuries facing the Hurricanes crease.

Raanta, 34, is facing the worst save percentage of his NHL career this season – with his last save percentage below .900 coming in his rookie season in 2013-14. His 11-year career has been marred by injuries, with Raanta only appearing in more than 30 games in one season just three times. The inconsistent health has limited him to being a career backup, despite posting 139 wins and a .915 save percentage in 277 career games. This includes his 2017-18 season when Raanta posted a .930 save percentage and 21 wins through 47 games with the Arizona Coyotes.

The Carolina Hurricanes have also shared that defenseman Brett Pesce is questionable for the team’s Saturday night game against the New Jersey Devils due to illness, per team reporter Walt Ruff. That could give way for Tony DeAngelo to make his way into the lineup. The 28-year-old DeAngelo has appeared in 22 games this season and scored nine points – a far step down from his usual productivity. The team will also be getting star winger Andrei Svechnikov back on Saturday, though, with the 23-year-old making his return after missing the last six games with an upper-body injury. Svechnikov has 30 points through 29 games this season, making him just one of two Hurricanes players scoring at a point-per-game pace.

Antti Raanta Leaves Thursday's Game With Lower-Body Injury

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  • After coming into tonight’s game in relief of Pyotr Kochetkov, Hurricanes goaltender Antti Raanta suffered a lower-body injury, per a team announcement (Twitter link). Raanta made nine saves in his lone period of work.  It has been a rough year for the 34-year-old who had a save percentage of just .870 coming into tonight’s action and cleared waivers back in December.

East Notes: Hughes, Toffoli, Svechnikov, Lockwood

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Devils center Jack Hughes will be activated from injured reserve and return to the lineup Thursday against the Flames, he told reporters, including the team’s own Amanda Stein. The 22-year-old had been out since Jan. 5 with an upper-body injury.

Hughes took line rushes with Tyler Toffoli and Alexander Holtz in this morning’s skate, but he may have different linemates against Calgary, said head coach Lindy Ruff. Toffoli is also expected to draw back into the lineup tonight after missing the team’s win over the Avalanche on Tuesday with an illness.

The 2019 first-overall pick continues to be New Jersey’s most dominant offensive force and leads the team with 1.41 points per game. He’s missed over 30% of the Devils’ games with injuries this season, though, although his 30 assists and 45 points still rank second on the team behind leading scorer Jesper Bratt.

A healthy Hughes for the rest of the season is one of the Devils’ biggest keys to clinching back-to-back playoff berths for the first time since 2009 and 2010. They sit five points back of the Red Wings for the final Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference but have two games in hand.

Elsewhere in the Eastern Conference on Thursday:

  • Hurricanes winger Andrei Svechnikov has been upgraded to being a game-time decision Thursday against the Avalanche, per the team’s Walt Ruff. He has yet to practice in a full-contact jersey since sustaining an upper-body injury on Jan. 21 but has remained day-to-day throughout the recovery process. Injuries have limited the high-flying Russian to 29 games on the year, but he’s managed to push through multiple disruptions to post the first point-per-game season of his career with 11 goals and 19 assists for 30 points.
  • Panthers winger William Lockwood remains out with a concussion and won’t return to the lineup Thursday against the Capitals, head coach Paul Maurice said (via the team’s Jameson Olive). Lockwood, 25, has not played since sustaining the concussion in a collision with Wild netminder Marc-André Fleury in a game on Jan. 20. Lockwood earned a three-game suspension on the play, which has long since been satisfied. He has a lone assist in 23 games with the Panthers this season, his first in Florida.

Svechnikov Could Return Thursday

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  • Hurricanes winger Andrei Svechnikov has missed the last five games due to an upper-body injury but it seems as if he’s close to a return. Team reporter Walt Ruff relays (Twitter link) head coach Rod Brind’Amour’s comments today which noted that Svechnikov is simply waiting until he feels 100% before returning to the lineup.  The bench boss feels that Svechnikov’s return should be just around the corner, meaning he could be a possibility to play against Colorado on Thursday.  The 23-year-old has been limited to just 29 games so far this season due to injuries but certainly has been productive, notching 11 goals and 19 assists.

Snapshots: Kochetkov, Monahan, Cousins, Hughes

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Pyotr Kochetkov has been confirmed as the starter for the Carolina Hurricanes’ Tuesday night game against the Vancouver Canucks, per head coach Rod Brind’Amour. This will be Kochetkov’s first game since suffering a concussion on January 11th. He was red-hot before the injury, going 7-1-2 and setting a .924 save percentage in his last 11 games. That includes a four-game winning streak leading up to the injury that saw Kochetkov post a .936 save percentage on 110 shots against.

Carolina has felt the impact of Kochetkov’s absences, seeing their average goals-against jump from 2.45 in Kochetkov’s last 11 appearances to 2.71 in the seven games that he’s missed. That hasn’t been enough of a difference to stifle the red-hot Hurricanes, though the team’s goal-differential has gone from +17 to just +1 in the same periods. The Hurricanes have relied on five different goalies through the 2023-24 season, facing multiple injuries and absences in net. They will hope to find their starting goalie for the second half of the season soon, with both Kochetkov and Frederik Andersen progressing in their return from injury. Andersen has been out since November 2nd with a blood clotting disorder.

Other notes from around the league:

Andrei Svechnikov Likely Remains Out Tuesday

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  • Hurricanes winger Andrei Svechnikov was not a full participant in practice today and likely remains out for Tuesday’s game against the Canucks, per Cory Lavalette of the North State Journal. Svechnikov missed the last four games before the All-Star break with an upper-body injury, his third multi-game absence of the season. He’s been electric when healthy, cracking the point-per-game plateau for the first time in his career with 11 goals and 19 assists in 29 games. The 2018 second-overall pick has missed 19 games this season due to multiple upper-body injuries, an illness, and continued recovery from knee surgery that ended his 2022-23 campaign last March.

Hurricanes Recall Pyotr Kochetkov

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As expected, the Hurricanes recalled netminder Pyotr Kochetkov from AHL Chicago on Sunday as the team returns to practice, per CapFriendly. Carolina loaned Kochetkov to Chicago last weekend to bank salary cap space over the All-Star break; he did not appear in any of Chicago’s three games over the past week.

Trade Deadline Primer: Carolina Hurricanes

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With the All-Star break approaching, the trade deadline looms large and is about a month and a half away. Where does each team stand, and what moves should they be looking to make? We continue our look around the league with the Carolina Hurricanes.

The Carolina Hurricanes have made their top status in the NHL undeniable this season. They’ve yet to have a losing record, despite facing injuries to top scorer Andrei Svechnikov and multiple goaltenders, including starter Frederik Andersen who is out indefinitely with a blood clotting issue. The Hurricanes have already iced five different goalies through the first half of the season, including waiver claim Spencer Martin and rookie Yaniv Perets. They even had veteran Jaroslav Halak on a professional try-out contract earlier in the season, though the 38-year-old wasn’t able to earn an NHL deal. But Carolina has persevered, fighting their way to ninth in the NHL and ranking in the league’s top 10 in goals for and against. They’ll be gearing up for another long playoff push when the Trade Deadline rolls around.

Record

28-15-5, 2nd in the Metropolitan

Deadline Status

Buyer

Deadline Cap Space

$8.73MM on deadline day, 0/3 retention slots used, 41/50 contracts used, per CapFriendly.

Upcoming Draft Picks

2024: CAR 1st, CAR 2nd, PHI 2nd, CAR 3rd, CAR 4th, CAR 5th, CAR 6th, CAR 7th
2025: CAR 1st, CAR 2nd, CAR 3rd, CAR 4th, CAR 6th, CAR 7th

Trade Chips

The Carolina Hurricanes have kept their roster fairly tight over the last few seasons and thus, don’t have much in the way of bargaining chips entering trade season. They are once again rumored to be shopping around Tony DeAngelo, who is in his second stint with the team after they traded him to the Philadelphia Flyers for a second, third, and fourth round pick in the 2022 summer. DeAngelo likely hasn’t done much to raise his value since that deal, seeing a decline in his production with 42 points in 70 games last season and just nine in 21 games this year. It’s been coupled with a decreased role, with the 28-year-old averaging just 14 minutes of ice time this season, significantly down from the 22 minutes he averaged with Philadelphia last season. Still, the hope of a revamped role leading to revamped scoring could be enough to convince a deadline seller.

The Hurricanes will otherwise likely be moving on from future assets. They’ve managed to hang on to almost all of their draft picks over the next three drafts and could be poised to cash them in with the wind behind them this season. They’ve also drafted well enough to manage parting with a few top prospects, like winger Noel Gunler who appeared in 42 AHL games and scored 23 points between 2021 and 2023, but is now on loan to the Liiga’s Karpat. Or they could move on from one of their two leading NCAA scorers in Bradly Nadeau – who ranks second on the University of Maine in scoring with 31 points in 22 games – or Cruz Lucius – who leads the University of Wisconsin with 22 points in 24 games.

With Carolina having reportedly taken Brett Pesce off the trade deadline, it’s hard to imagine many other names they’d be excited to move. They’ll be limited to a strict buyer status on deadline day, doomed to part with future capital if they want to build on this season. But they may have a silver lining financially, with CapFriendly estimating the Hurricanes will have roughly $8.7MM in deadline cap space. That could be enough to make bringing on cap feasible, likely cheapening any deal, or helping them contend for the more expensive players on the market.

Team Needs

1) Consistency In Net: The Carolina Hurricanes don’t necessarily need a goaltender. Pyotr Kochetkov has manned the team’s net serviceably, when healthy, tallying 11 wins and a .900 save percentage through 23 games. The 24-year-old is currently in the AHL, looking to make his return from a concussion suffered on January 11th that earned him a stint on injured reserve. Kochetkov’s de facto backup, Antti Raanta, has also managed 12 games this season, though he’s tallied a much lower .870 save percentage. But neither goalie has been able to evade the minors, with Kochetkov not making the Hurricanes out of camp and playing in three AHL games this season, and Raanta getting placed on waivers earlier in the year and appearing  in two AHL games.

Consistency in net has been Carolina’s missing piece this year. And while they could continue wishing for better health, this could be the best year to bring in a new name. There’s a long list of quality goaltenders on the trade block, including  backups Jake Allen and Marc-Andre Fleury. Both options could come at a cheaper price than top names like Jacob Markstrom or Kaapo Kahkonen, while still providing Carolina with an upgrade over Raanta. With Kochetkov hoping to return from injury soon, the Hurricanes don’t need to sell the lot for a new name. But anyone capable of staying active would provide massive value, especially as the team aims its sights on a deep playoff run.

2) A Big Splash: Carolina hasn’t had much to complain about this season. They’re getting plenty of scoring, with 11 players boasting 20 or more points, including three defensemen. They’re even poised to add a major scoring talent back into the lineup when Andrei Svechnikov returns from an upper-body injury that’s held him out of Carolina’s last three games. But there are plenty of big names on the open market that could put an already-strong Hurricanes team over the top. They could pull off a blockbuster deal to bring in Ottawa’s Jakob Chychrun or Vladimir Tarasenko, Philadelphia’s Sean Walker, or Pittsburgh’s Jake Guentzel. All four players would provide formidable depth to Carolina, without locking the team into lengthy contracts. It’d be a surefire boost to a Hurricanes lineup that’s pitted up against a strong divisional opponent in the New York Rangers. Carolina doesn’t typically jump for big-name Spring trades, but a rich market could sway them to upgrade while they still can.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Frederik Andersen Cleared To Resume Skating

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Hurricanes goaltender Frederik Andersen has been cleared by team doctors to resume “limited on-ice conditioning,” general manager Don Waddell said Wednesday. Andersen, 34, has not played since November with blood clotting issues, which Waddell confirmed today was a deep-vein thrombosis with subsequent pulmonary embolism.

The two-time Jennings Trophy winner has been on anti-coagulation medication since the November diagnosis, Waddell said. He has recently resumed off-ice activities “without complication” and will now move to on-ice work, although he remains sidelined indefinitely.

“I am thrilled that I’m a step closer to joining my teammates and competing on the ice,” Andersen said. “I feel grateful for the help and support I’ve received from my family and doctors, as well as the entire Hurricanes organization.”

It’s still unclear whether Andersen will return to game action this season. The team’s starter in their run to the 2023 Eastern Conference Final has not played since a Nov. 2 loss to the Rangers.

Like everyone else to suit up between the pipes for Carolina this year, Andersen had a slow start. Through six appearances, he posted a subpar .894 SV% and -0.5 goals saved above expected, per MoneyPuck, although he had an SV% north of .920 in his last three starts before the deep-vein thrombosis presented.

Still, when healthy, he holds the de facto starting gig for the second-place team in the Metropolitan Division. In 92 games since joining the Hurricanes in free agency in 2021, he has a sparkling 60-26-4 record with a .914 SV% and 2.32 GAA. After starting last year’s postseason on the shelf with an undisclosed injury, Andersen came in and shut the door with a .927 SV% and 1.83 GAA in nine showings in the second and third rounds against the Devils and Panthers, although it wasn’t enough to help Carolina to the Stanley Cup Final for the first time in 17 years.

His absence has created a domino effect on the Hurricanes’ goalie depth, forcing them to recall first-year pro Yaniv Perets from ECHL Norfolk on multiple occasions to serve as a backup when injuries and poor play sidelined either veteran Antti Raanta or second-year full-timer Pyotr Kochetkov. Only recently were they able to add experienced depth after claiming Spencer Martin off waivers from the Blue Jackets earlier this month.

Raanta is having the worst season of his career, logging a .870 SV% and -9.9 GSAx that ranks fifth-worst in the league. Luckily for Carolina, the 24-year-old Kochetkov has rebounded from a slow start to post a respectable .900 SV% on the campaign. He now leads Hurricanes goalies with 21 starts this season, although he’s been sidelined since Jan. 11 with a concussion. He was activated from injured reserve last Friday and backed up Raanta in the team’s final game before the All-Star break, though, and will be in line for regular starts again when they return to action next week.

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