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Pyotr Kochetkov

Metropolitan Notes: Hughes, Hart, Couturier, Pesce, Kochetkov

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The upper-body injury keeping New Jersey Devils star forward Jack Hughes out of the lineup is a right shoulder ailment, Ryan Novozinsky of NJ.com reports. Hughes, who remains tied for the NHL’s points lead with 20, remains out on a week-to-week basis after crashing into the boards in the first period of Friday’s loss to the St. Louis Blues.

Notably, this is not an aggravation of the upper-body injury Hughes sustained during the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs, Novozinsky adds. It’s great news for the Devils, who have relied heavily on their offense and power play to stay afloat this season. The 2019 first-overall pick is averaging over 20 minutes per game and has 15 assists in ten games, including nine power-play assists.

New Jersey is currently without Hughes and captain Nico Hischier due to separate upper-body injuries, meaning the team is down both of its top two centers. Dawson Mercer shifted to the middle, and Michael McLeod jumped up to center the second line in yesterday’s 4-2 win over the Chicago Blackhawks.

Other notes from the Metropolitan Division today:

  • Injured Philadelphia Flyers cornerstones Sean Couturier and Carter Hart traveled with the team on their upcoming three-game California road swing, Charlie O’Connor of PHLY Sports reports. While not a guarantee, the door is open for the team’s first-line center and starting goaltender to return to the lineup sometime this week. The team listed both players as day-to-day on Friday with a lower-body and mid-body injury, respectively. Both players have missed the team’s last two games, a 5-1 win over the Buffalo Sabres on Friday and a 5-0 loss to the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday.
  • Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Brett Pesce has returned to practice for the first time since sustaining a lower-body injury nearly three weeks ago, Walt Ruff of the team’s official site reports. Sporting a no-contact sweater, Pesce is almost two weeks into his recovery from surgery undergone on October 24. His return to the lineup is not imminent, but he does appear on track to return in the two-to-four-week window following the surgery as initially expected. Pesce, 28, had two points in five games this season and is a pending UFA.
  • Sticking with Carolina, 24-year-old netminder Pyotr Kochetkov is expected to rejoin the team from his loan to the AHL’s Syracuse Crunch before tomorrow’s contest against Buffalo, Cory Lavalette of the North State Journal relays. Starter Frederik Andersen is not expected to be available as he is dealing with an undisclosed medical issue, and veteran Jaroslav Halák is not eligible to suit up while on a professional tryout, which he signed with the team this morning. Kochetkov, who has a 0-3-0 record and .836 SV% with the Hurricanes this season, will likely back up Antti Raanta in tomorrow’s contest.

Roster Notes: Drysdale, Pietrangelo, Kurashev, Bonino, Kochetkov

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Although no official announcement has come from the team, CapFriendly indicates that the Anaheim Ducks have placed defenseman Jamie Drysdale on injured reserve retroactively to October 15th. Drysdale has not played in the following three games for the organization, as he has put up two assists while carrying a +2 rating.

As expected, the Ducks are not getting off to a hot start to this season, carrying a 1-4-0 record into tonight’s game against the Columbus Blue Jackets. However, there is still plenty to be excited about in Orange County, as the team was able to sign both Drysdale and Trevor Zegras to separate three-year contracts shortly before the start of the season, as well as seeing the second-overall selection of the 2023 NHL Draft, Leo Carlsson, score a goal in his first ever professional game.

Nevertheless, even without indicating any effort to compete for the playoffs this season, Drysdale’s presence will be missed on the blue line. Thin on depth throughout the defensive core at the top level of the organization, there is an argument to be made that Drysdale represents the best of what the Ducks have to offer on defense.

Other roster notes:

  • Having not played since the second game of the season for the Vegas Golden Knights, Jesse Granger of The Athletic is reporting that Alex Pietrangelo is back at practice with the team, skating in a non-contact jersey. In the two games he has played, Pietrangelo has put up one assist, averaging nearly 23 minutes a night. Remarkably, even without the presence of Pietrangelo in the lineup, the Golden Knights are one of only three teams who remain undefeated to start the season.
  • After taking the entire summer to rehab a shoulder injury sustained towards the end of last season, Chicago Blackhawks’ forward, Philipp Kurashev, suffered a wrist injury during training camp before the start of this season, keeping him out of the lineup up to this point. With a serious need for more secondary scoring in their lineup, Charlie Roumeliotis of NBC Sports-Chicago is reporting that Kurashev is looking to make his debut for the team on Tuesday, as they take on the Boston Bruins for the second time this season.
  • Per a team announcement, depth forward for the New York Rangers, Nick Bonino, is considered day-to-day with an illness, and will not practice with the team today. In five games so far with the Rangers, Bonino has gone scoreless, primarily centering the fourth line between fellow teammates Barclay Goodrow and Jimmy Vesey.
  • After returning him to the Syracuse Crunch of the AHL last night, CapFriendly is reporting that the Carolina Hurricanes have called goaltender Pyotr Kochetkov back up to the NHL. Suffice it to say, Kochetkov did not get off to the best start with the Hurricanes this season, allowing six goals on 28 shots in his only start against the Colorado Avalanche.

Carolina Hurricanes Assign Pyotr Kochetkov To AHL

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Sunday: With Andersen nearing a return, the Hurricanes have returned Kochetkov to Syracuse, CapFriendly reports.

Wednesday: The Carolina Hurricanes announced that the team has recalled Pyotr Kochetkov from the Syracuse Crunch of the American Hockey League. Without a direct affiliate this season, the Hurricanes have most of their minor league depth players sporadically placed throughout the AHL.

Although no distinction was made through the team announcement, this is likely tied to the removal of Frederik Andersen during last night’s game against the San Jose Sharks. After just a few minutes into the game, Andersen would take a shot off the mask, leaving the rest of the game to goaltender Antti Raanta. Nevertheless, it is important to note that the team reporter for the Hurricanes, Walt Ruff, said that Andersen was back practicing with the team today.

With two quality goaltending options already on the roster, it was still a bit of a surprise to see Kochetkov not make the team out of camp, primarily because of the solid season he put together last year. In 23 starts last season, Kochetkov managed a 12-7-5 record, posting a .909SV% and a 2.44 GAA, albeit behind a very solid Carolina defense.

Most teams could do worse than Kochetkov in the case of a third-string goaltender, and the franchise rewarded him with a four-year, $8MM contract extension in the fall of last season. Coming up, the Hurricanes have two tough road games this week against the Seattle Kraken and Colorado Avalanche, respectively, both of which Kochetkov could see some minutes in between the pipes.

Hurricanes Assign Coghlan, Three Others To Minor Leagues

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The Carolina Hurricanes have made their final roster cuts, assigning seven players to various leagues or injury designation. Dylan Coghlan (Springfield), Caleb Jones (Colorado), and Pyotr Kochetkov (Syracuse) have been assigned to various teams in the AHL. Domenick Fensore has been sent to Norfolk of the ECHL. 2023 Draft prospect Felix Unger Sorum was sent back to Leksands in Sweden. And Vasily Ponomarev and Ryan Suzuki were assigned to the team’s injured non-roster list. The final Hurricanes lineup can be viewed here.

The process of assigning players to the minor leagues has been a tricky one for Carolina, who are without an AHL affiliate for the season after the Chicago Wolves opted to go independent. This has meant that every player Carolina wants to assign to the AHL must be loaned out, explaining why Coghlan, Jones, and Kochetkov were dispersed.

Unger Sorum was an exciting name to follow throughout Carolina’s training camp. The winger was just barely eligible for the 2023 NHL Draft, being born a day before the cutoff. That means that he only turned 18 on September 14th. And yet he was able to carve out a significant role for much of the team’s camp, even earning speculation over whether he was ready to join the NHL lineup. Instead, he becomes one of their final roster cuts and will rejoin Leksands in Sweden. Unger Sorum primarily played for Leksands’ U20 team last year, appearing in 42 games and recording 46 points. He also played in seven SHL games, although he didn’t manage to record any points. The 2023 second-round pick will be an exciting international name for Canes fans to follow throughout the 2022-23 campaign.

Carolina Hurricanes Expected To Loan Pyotr Kochetkov To Syracuse Crunch

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ESPN’s Kevin Weekes has reported on X that the Carolina Hurricanes will loan netminder Pyotr Kochetkov to the AHL’s Syracuse Crunch, the top affiliate of the Hurricanes’ Eastern Conference rivals, the Tampa Bay Lightning.

The move comes in the wake of two significant events: the injury to Lightning superstar goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy, as well as the move by the Hurricanes’ prior AHL affiliate, the Chicago Wolves, to move forward as an independent AHL franchise.

The Wolves’ move has left the Hurricanes without an AHL affiliate of their own, and the result has been significant to the developmental pathways for Hurricanes prospects. A few prospects, some of whom are notably AHL-caliber players (such as Anttoni Honka and Noel Gunler) will be playing in the ECHL for 2023-24, while others such as Jamieson Rees have latched on with AHL clubs.

It has also complicated things for Hurricanes goaltending, as the team had previously been able to count on an AHL affiliate to provide starter-level opportunity for their organization’s third goalie.

Placing Kochetkov in Syracuse will allow Kochetkov to see regular game action, something he was unlikely to receive as a third goalie behind Frederik Andersen and Antti Raanta.

Making $2MM against the cap through 2026-27, the Hurricanes likely believe that the 24-year-old Kochetkov will be a long-term face in Carolina, so getting him the chance to continue his development in the AHL is an important step.

The Crunch are one of the AHL’s few remaining independently-owned franchises, and they have always prioritized a healthy balance between development and playing winning hockey.

As other AHL teams have jumped head-first into prioritizing development above all else, the Crunch have continuously attempted to field a contending roster, and the addition of Kochetkov will help them dramatically for the early part of the season.

The injury of Vasilevskiy may have a ripple effect on goaltending depth for the Lightning organization, as one of the goalies expected to see time with the Crunch, Matt Tomkins, is now in Tampa with the Lightning.

Getting Kochetkov will not only make it so the Crunch won’t have to rely on offseason signing Evan Fitzpatrick to start games, (he has just 13 AHL games on his resume) it will also land them one of the most talented goalies in the AHL, even if just for a limited time.

While it’s certainly not a common sight to see an NHL team loan a notable player to a rival team, this move is not without precedent. The St. Louis Blues once loaned netminder Jordan Binnington to the AHL’s Providence Bruins, just one year before Binnington defeated the Boston Bruins in the 2019 Stanley Cup Final.

Although it’s far from an ideal situation for the Hurricanes and Kochetkov, this move does have its benefits for all parties involved and it’ll be interesting to see how the Crunch split starts between Kochetkov and Hugo Alnefelt, a valued Tampa Bay prospect.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images. 

Hurricanes Notes: Kochetkov, AHL Loans, Chicago

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With the Hurricanes not having a dedicated AHL affiliate this season, Cory Lavalette suggested in a recent mailbag piece for The Athletic (subscription link) that they might be inclined to carry three goalies on the NHL roster this coming season.  While Pyotr Kochetkov is now in the first season of a four-year, $8MM contract, the expectation was that they’d take advantage of his waiver exemption to get him some regular action in the minors.  But if they loan the 24-year-old to another team’s affiliate, there’s no guarantee Kochetkov would get any sort of consistent minutes as the other team would likely be more interested in developing their own prospect.  Accordingly, Lavalette wonders if Kochetkov’s best path to AHL minutes would be in the form of short-term loans for a game or two to keep him fresh.  With both Antti Raanta and Frederik Andersen having injury issues in the past, it’s quite possible that Kochetkov could still see some meaningful games with the Hurricanes this season.

More from Carolina:

  • Also from Lavalette’s piece, GM Don Waddell indicated that they have found a place for most of their prospects to play this season although they’re still looking for a spot for a few of them. Carolina has loaned several prospects overseas already while their other AHL-bound players are likely to be spread across quite a few other teams.  That will be the case for any ECHL-bound players as well as their affiliate from last season in Norfolk is now aligned with Winnipeg.
  • One AHL team that doesn’t appear likely to house any Hurricanes prospects is their former affiliate in Chicago. Wolves GM Wendell Young told Tony Androckitis of Inside AHL Hockey that while they discussed the possibility of still using some of their prospects, Carolina ultimately pulled the plug on that idea.  Young stated that Carolina’s desire to focus on prospect development over winning was the key driver in Chicago’s decision to operate as an independent franchise this season.

Goalie Notes: Andersen/Raanta, Jarry, Korpisalo

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The Carolina Hurricanes will have a big decision to make this offseason when it comes to their crease. It seemed like a forgone conclusion that one of Frederik Andersen or Antti Raanta would be allowed to walk in free agency as the Hurricanes already have netminder Pyotr Kochetkov locked up for a very reasonable $2MM per season. But according to Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic the Hurricanes appear to be in negotiations with both Andersen and Raanta. While it seems unusual for a team that normally has an internal budget to stash a $2MM player in the minors, Kochetkov is still waiver exempt for one more season meaning Carolina could roll back the trio for one more year. That might be the prudent thing to do given that the club needed all three goalies this past year to navigate the various injuries that they dealt with throughout the campaign. Andersen was just okay in the regular season but was terrific in the playoffs, while Raanta had a good regular season but had his fair share of struggles in the postseason.

In other goalie notes:

  • LeBrun writes that Pittsburgh Penguins new boss Kyle Dubas has yet to approach the Tristan Jarry situation in any meaningful way and that things still appear to be status quo. Dubas has historically been reluctant to commit major dollars or term to goaltenders and given the injury history and inconsistency in Jarry’s game, it seems unlikely he would commit either to the 28-year-old. Jarry is likely looking for a long-term deal and a return to Pittsburgh seems unlikely unless the bottom falls out of the market, and he decides Pittsburgh is a good soft landing for him. Jarry went 24-13-7 this past season as he and the Penguins missed the playoffs for the first time in 16 seasons. The Surrey, British Columbia native posted a .909 save percentage for the second time in the past three seasons and has yet to demonstrate that he can win in the playoffs.
  • LeBrun writes that netminder Joonas Korpisalo and the Los Angeles Kings have had some initial conversations on a contract extension but given how close the Kings are to the cap they may have a tough time fitting in a big cap number on a goaltender. It appears Joonas Korpisalo will hit the open market and he could be an intriguing name for teams looking to make a move in the crease. While he was terrific this past season, Korpisalo has posted a goals saved above expected number higher than -7 every season from 2017-18 through 2021-22 and a save percentage above .915 just once. Given his track record he may be best suited in a 1A/1B tandem situation similar to the Carolina Hurricanes structure with Andersen and Raanta.

Carolina Hurricanes Reassign Pyotr Kochetkov

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The Carolina Hurricanes are returning to a Frederik Andersen–Antti Raanta tandem, with the latter coming back from his latest injury in the next few days. The team has reassigned Pyotr Kochetkov to the AHL today after some strong performances in recent weeks.

Kochetkov, 23, has played in 24 games for the Hurricanes this season, effectively making a three-way split of the Carolina playing time. Andersen has logged the most with 29, while veteran Raanta has appeared in 23 games. Among the three, the young Kotchetkov has the best save percentage at .909, and more complex metrics support his strong play.

That will make for some interesting decisions come playoff time, especially if Raanta struggles at all down the stretch. The 33-year-old has never been able to stay healthy for long, and has a .907 save percentage on the year. That has resulted in just two regulation losses because of how strong Carolina’s depth is at other positions, but it doesn’t lend itself to much confidence when the season is on the line.

There is still some inconsistency in Kochetkov’s game, but he showed again over the weekend that he can play at a high level. Facing 44 shots against the Toronto Maple Leafs (including a season-high 15 from Auston Matthews), the young netminder allowed just three goals to secure the win. With Andersen and Raanta both scheduled for unrestricted free agency in the summer, and Kochetkov already signed to a four-year, $8MM extension, his time is coming in Carolina.

Carolina Hurricanes Recall Pyotr Kochetkov On Emergency Basis

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The Carolina Hurricanes have announced that goaltender Pyotr Kochetkov has been recalled on an emergency basis. The move comes as Antti Raanta left last night’s game against the Montreal Canadiens with an undisclosed injury.

The Hurricanes play games tomorrow night, Saturday, and Sunday, so one would think that if Raanta isn’t ready to play in those games, Kochetkov could get to make his 19th NHL start of the season thanks to this recall.

The 23-year-old Kochetkov last played in the NHL in the middle of January, when he stopped 29 of 32 shots in a shootout loss to the Vancouver Canucks. In the final stretch of 2022, Kochetkov managed to put together some stellar performances, including back-to-back shutouts against the Detroit Red Wings and New York Islanders in December. His stellar play in December 2022 earned him NHL Rookie of the Month honors.

More recently, Kochetkov has made headlines in the AHL by scoring a rare goalie goal only to be ejected from the game moments later.

Overall, Kochetkov has had a strong season. He’s posted a 10-4-5 record in the NHL with a .913 save percentage and 2.33 goals-against-average, and a 13-5-2 record, 2.39 goals-against-average and .916 save percentage in the AHL.

Kochetkov’s stellar performance this year comes with added benefit to the Hurricanes, as they already have him locked into a contract extension that runs through the 2026-27 season. That deal comes at a $2MM AAV, meaning if Kochetkov can become at the very least a tandem goalie in Carolina (if not the quality starter he has looked like for short bursts in his brief NHL career) that contract could represent a major bargain for the Hurricanes.

But putting aside that long-term thinking, it’s likely that with this recall, Kochetkov will have another NHL start to prepare for. With the Hurricanes battling the New Jersey Devils for supremacy in the Metropolitan Division, Carolina has to be thankful that they have a goalie like Kochetkov as their organization’s number-three netminder.

Carolina Hurricanes Reassign Pyotr Kochetkov

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With all three goaltenders healthy, the Carolina Hurricanes had to make a decision. Since Pyotr Kochetkov is still waiver-exempt, he’s the one on the way out. The young netminder has been reassigned to the minor leagues, despite his strong performance so far this year.

This certainly won’t make many Hurricanes fans happy, as of the three – Kochetkov, Antti Raanta, and Frederik Andersen – there has been only one consistent presence. Andersen has a .903 save percentage in just ten appearances, while Raanta has an .894 despite having one of the strongest defensive teams in the league playing ahead of him.

Kochetkov, 23, has a .913 through 19 games, losing just four of them in regulation. That earned him a four-year extension a few months ago, one that locks him into a roster spot in the future.

Not yet, though, as he now heads back to the Chicago Wolves for the time being. The club will go with an Andersen-Raanta tandem.

If there’s a silver lining for Kochetkov fans, it’s that those veteran goaltenders have never really shown the ability to stay healthy for long. Their combined history suggests that the young netminder will be back up before long, and could very well be the starting goaltender again by the time the playoffs roll around.

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