With Petr Mrazek back, Hurricanes have goaltending decisions to make at trade deadline
For the Carolina Hurricanes, the sprint to the finish line of the regular season has begun.
The Canes host the Florida Panthers on Tuesday and Thursday in what‘s presumably a preview of what should be a Central Division first- or second-round playoff series. The top four teams in each division qualify and the Panthers (26-9-4) go into Tuesday’s game first in the division with 56 points and the Canes (25-9-3) third with 53, one point behind Tampa Bay.
The Panthers have played 39 games and the Canes 37, so the Canes’ two games-in-hand on Florida won’t change until after the two-game set at PNC Arena. Tampa Bay (26-10-2) has played 38 games.
With 19 games remaining in the condensed season, the Canes have a goaltending equation that needs clarifying. Three goalies are healthy: James Reimer, Alex Nedeljkovic and now Petr Mrazek.
There aren’t enough games left to keep all three fresh. There won’t be enough practice time to keep three sharp. Someone must sit, but whom?
Canes coach Rod Brind’Amour has been able to slip that question during Mrazek’s long rehab from thumb surgery. Reimer and Nedeljkovic played. But Mrazek returned Sunday for his first NHL game since Jan. 30 and shut out the Dallas Stars, 1-0 — no easy task.
Mrazek was in the starter’s crease at Tuesday’s morning skate and the likely starter against the Panthers. Nedeljkovic manned the other net and will be the backup Tuesday.
Brind’Amour was asked if Mrazek and Nedeljkovic would be the top two goalies moving forward.
“Nope, we’ve got three,” he said.
Will all three get games moving forward?
“I’ve got three guys I’ve got to figure out how to work them in,” Brind’Amour said. “I like all of them. Right now Petr has got to get his game conditioning going so he can be ready, getting up to speed fully and feel good about everything. Obviously, he played well the other night but I’ve got to keep the other guys engaged, too. A bit of a challenge but great to have great options.”
The question arose immediately after Sunday’s game about the goaltending situation.
“It’s great to know that Petr’s back as far as being sharp and there are no questions there. He’d been out a long time,” Brind’Amour said Sunday. “The question that’s obviously going to come is what kind of workload do you give him, and he’s got to have a few starts to really get in the groove of playing every day or that conditioning aspect.”
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The goaltending question might be easier to answer if Mrazek had struggled a bit Sunday but he made 28 saves. He was strong when things were tight, in the final minutes of regulation as the Stars pulled their goalie for a sixth attacker and attacked, hunting a tying goal.
“He didn’t have a lot of work for two (periods) and then when we needed him, he was there in the last five minutes,” Brind’Amour said. “He made three or more spectacular, especially weird ones that got in that he couldn’t see. They weren’t Grade-A’s but they were coming from angles and screens. He fought through it. He was good, obviously.”
If the Canes, with an eye to the playoffs, determine Mrazek will be their No. 1 goalie, they will give him considerable work in the final 19 games. His shutout Sunday was his third in five starts this season and his numbers remain eye-opening: A 0.74 goals-against average and .968 save percentage.
Trade could be an option
An option, and general manager Don Waddell has broached the idea a time or two, would be trading one of the goalies. The NHL trade deadline is Monday, April 12 and the Canes might be looking for another forward with Brock McGinn’s status now in doubt.
McGinn, a tough winger who never seems to come out of a game and not return, did just that Sunday. McGinn had an upper-body injury and Brind’Amour said Tuesday that McGinn still was being evaluated.
There’s also the matter of Teuvo Teravainen. The winger remains sidelined with concussion symptoms, his return timetable unknown. COVID-19 and the concussion have limited him to 13 games this season.
Reimer has a 14-4-1 record with a 2.71 GAA and .905 save percentage. Nedeljkovic, who was named the NHL rookie of the month for March, is 8-4-2 with a 2.12 GAA and .924 percentage.
“I would say Alex and (Reimer) both played really, really well,” Mrazek said after Sunday’s game. “They gave the team a chance to win every night and they did a great job.”
That was in February and March. It’s April and Mrazek is back.
All three goalies are in the final years of their respective contacts, and Mrazek and Reimer are due to become unrestricted free agents after the season. That will factor into any trade discussion while offering an added financial incentive for all three.
It’s not a goaltending quandary but it does need clarifying.
Carolina Hurricanes vs Florida Panthers
- When: Tuesday, 7 p.m.
- Where: PNC Arena, Raleigh.
- TV: BSSO (Bally Sports)
This story was originally published April 6, 2021 at 9:19 AM with the headline "With Petr Mrazek back, Hurricanes have goaltending decisions to make at trade deadline."
