Could the Hurricanes Simply Carry 3 Goalies?

[metaldude26]

Been thinking about the Hurricanes' three-headed monster. Given that Carolina doesn't have an AHL affiliate to send Kochetkov to (even though he's waivers exempt) might the Hurricanes just roll with three goalies all season?

We all know Andersen and Raanta are going to miss time with injuries anyhow, but I've been thinking that Kochetkov might make for a great stash option in one-year leagues on Yahoo where you can stick guys in an "N/A" slot but maybe he doesn't get that N/A designation if he's sitting in the press box rather than playing in the minors.

Let's hear your wild speculation!

[Axeman33]

If they dont have an AHL affiliate, what are their options with Kochetkov other than the NHL? Where can they demote him to? Could they just "loan" him to another AHL team?

You could add Calgary to this discussion as well, although they still have an AHL affiliate. That being said, Wolf has nothing left to prove in the AHL at this point. The difference is Conroy has said he's open to moving one of his veteran goalies so clearly the idea is to get Wolf in the NHL asap where as Carolina seems determined to keep their veterans around. I think it's safe to say many were surprised when both Raanta and Andersen got new contracts in the summer.

[metaldude26]

If they dont have an AHL affiliate, what are their options with Kochetkov other than the NHL? Where can they demote him to? Could they just "loan" him to another AHL team?

You could add Calgary to this discussion as well, although they still have an AHL affiliate. That being said, Wolf has nothing left to prove in the AHL at this point. The difference is Conroy has said he's open to moving one of his veteran goalies so clearly the idea is to get Wolf in the NHL asap where as Carolina seems determined to keep their veterans around. I think it's safe to say many were surprised when both Raanta and Andersen got new contracts in the summer.

They can work out an agreement and loan him somewhere else, which may be the direction they go. They've reportedly worked out agreements for most of their players to be loaned out. I just wonder about Kochetkov specifically because goalies are such an inflection point.

I'm not sure Calgary has the cap space to be carrying an extra goalie and since they have their own affiliate it makes sense to keep Wolf active in a situation they control.

[tweetdrivr]

I’d be really surprised if they kept a young goalie they have no intention of playing much in the NHL. I’m going to say until someone inevitably gets injured Kotch is playing down somewhere.

[pmorrow]

Yeah I would expect them to put Kochetkov wherever he can get the most starts. They don't want him riding the pine either in the NHL or AHL. They could get into a 3 goalie thing at some points but I would say that is not at all what they would want ideally and will try to avoid it for Kochetkov's sake if nothing else.

[zambronies]

I don’t see them having Kochetkov in the NHL unless Andersen of Raanta are injured.

[chuckcouples]

Why would they keep a 3rd goalie unless they have to? It makes no sense from any point of view. Kochetkov is waiver exempt and there are still 32 AHL teams so finding a place for him to play in the AHL will not be anymore difficult than last year. It would be a waste of cap space and development time to have Kochetkov with the Hurricanes...until one of Raanta or Andersen gets hurt.

[stevegamer]

Here's an article on the ramifications of not having a AHL affiliate for them. The Chicago Wolves going independent is ... interesting. It seems to set them up to try to get an affiliation that will do better than the Hurricanes in the local market.

https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/caroli...ina-hurricanes

Honestly, goalie is the easy position to deal with compared to skaters. Some AHL team is going to be looking at signing a "just a guy" veteran hanging on to share the load. They can take the loan of Kochetkov pretty easily; it's one roster spot, and it's not the sort of thing where there are plays that are called.