What are the Carolina Hurricanes’ options for goalie depth if another injury strikes?

The Carolina Hurricanes could be in a bit of a bind at the goaltending position.

Already on tenuous ground with its oft-injured top tandem of Frederik Andersen and Antti Raanta, Carolina figured it was fine with up-and-comer Pyotr Kochetkov there to give the the veteran duo extra rest and fill in if — and when — one of the top two tweaked something.

Andersen, however, is working through a far more serious condition: The Hurricanes announced earlier in November that Andersen is dealing with a blood clotting issue and will be out indefinitely.

The Canes’ immediate response was to bring in free agent veteran Jaroslav Halak on a professional tryout. Halak last played in the NHL as Igor Shesterkin’s backup for the New York Rangers last season. Carolina also called Kochetkov up from the American Hockey League.

In six games since the Canes announced Andersen’s ailment, Carolina is 4-2. Raanta is 3-1 after Wednesday’s win, for which he got credit despite leaving after the first period with the second “uh-oh” goaltending moment of the month.

Kochetkov is 1-1, with a shutout on the road, a home loss, and a so-so, if not spectacular, “hold” Wednesday against the punchless Edmonton Oilers.

Oh, and did we mention the Canes officially released Halak from his PTO agreement this week, too?

That may be the third “uh-oh.”

With the Canes searching for depth between the pipes, here are a few options — in no particular order — the team could consider to supplement Kochetkov’s presence if it’s afraid Raanta might miss significant time:

Jaroslav Halak

We just mentioned him above, and the Canes by now are familiar with the 38-year-old journeyman who counts battling against Sidney Crosby in junior hockey among his many credentials. He also once gave Montreal Canadiens management a possible reason to bail on all-world goalie Carey Price with his stellar play in the 2010 playoffs while Price was hurt.

Halak was in Carolina looking to latch onto his sixth NHL team, and he sits just five wins shy of 300 in his 581-game NHL career. He’s a seven-time 20-game winner and has had a winning record in all but two of his 18 professional seasons. If the Canes are looking for a veteran presence, they could do a lot worse.

That said, Halak was not practicing with an NHL team all summer, and staying sharp to play in the top league in the world isn’t easy when you’re not facing top-caliber competition. It’s likely one of the reasons Halak was let go from his PTO in the first place.

Yaniv Perets

Yaniv Perets is a goalie with whom Canes coach Rod Brind’Amour is familiar, given that Brind’Amour’s son, AHL rookie Skyler Brind’Amour, played with Perets at Quinnipiac University last season, winning an NCAA title with the Bobcats.

The Hurricanes signed Perets to a two-year entry-level contract in April, and he was an active participant in the team’s rookie camp and training camp during preseason.

With the Canes’ lack of an exclusive AHL affiliate this season, Perets was assigned to the Norfolk Admirals of the ECHL. In eight games this season, Perets is 2-5-1 with a 2.93 GAA and .900 save percentage. Those numbers don’t scream “NHL-ready,” but he is the only other goaltender currently under contract with the Hurricanes. That alone makes him an option, but winning a national collegiate championship and playing the NHL are two very different things.

Brian Elliott

Wait, Brian Elliott is still in the NHL?

Well, he is, technically, though he, like Halak, has yet to suit up this season and has not officially retired from the league.

Elliott last played for the Tampa Bay Lightning, spending two seasons as the primary backup to all-world keeper Andrei Vasilevskiy through the end of last season. In 41 games over two seasons, Elliott was a respectable 23-12-5 with a GAA under 3.00 and a save percentage above .900.

Elliott was among the elite goaltenders in the NHL for several seasons in the early 2010s. His best statistical campaign was in 2011-12, when he turned in a minuscule 1.56 GAA and .940 save percentage over 38 games. He has seen action for his original team, Ottawa, Colorado, St. Louis, Calgary, Philadelphia and Tampa in his 543-game NHL career.

Mike Smith

Mike Smith is two years removed from helping the Edmonton Oilers — yes, those Oilers — to a Western Conference final.

The veteran goalie, who is now 41 years old, has yet to officially retire from the NHL, though it was rumored he would do so after spending 2022-23 on long-term injured reserve. He has played in 670 regular-season games and 45 playoff games, 16 of which came two years ago when he posted a 3.37 GAA and a .913 save percentage behind a potent offensive Oilers team.

Smith also had a deep playoff run with the Arizona (then Phoenix) Coyotes in 2012. That year, he posted a 1.99 GAA and .944 save percentage in 16 playoff games after a 2.21/.930 regular campaign.

But, as previously noted, he’s 41. And he hasn’t played in more than a season.

Other names out there

Some lesser known players who are still without an NHL contract include Aaron Dell, Jon Gillies, Michael Hutchinson, Jean-Francois Berube and Christopher Gibson.

Dell, 34, most recently played for San Jose in both the NHL and AHL in 2023. He saw most of his NHL action —107 of his 130 games — from 2016-2020 with the Sharks before brief stints with New Jersey and Buffalo.

Gillies, 29, like Perets, was an NCAA championship goalie, winning the title with Providence in 2015. He’s played in 25 NHL games, most recently appearing in three with the Columbus Blue Jackets last season.

Hutchinson, 33, has the most NHL games played among this group, with 153. He, too, spent time with Columbus a year ago, posting not-so-great numbers (4.29/.877) over 16 games for the Blue Jackets. His best stretch came from 2014-17, when he played in 96 games for the Winnipeg Jets.

Berube, 31, has only played in 40 NHL games, and he, too, most recently played for Columbus, in the 2021-22 season. He saw 14 games with the Islanders in 2016-17, and 13 with Chicago the following season. He played in five playoff games last season with the Charlotte Checkers in the AHL after playing 19 regular-season games with Florida’s farm club.

Gibson, 30, was drafted 49th overall by the Los Angeles Kings in the second round of the 2011 entry draft and has played 16 NHL games, most recently with Tampa Bay in 2020-21. He’s also played in 244 AHL games.

The other option

If nothing in the free agent market — or in-house — excites the Hurricanes, there is always the trade market, though this early in the season, it would likely be a tough deal to make to find a bona fide goaltending option. And then the problem would arise on the back end of this run of injuries and illness of what to do with the extra goalie, assuming everyone returns to full health.

It’s no secret the Canes have two great defenders in the final year of their contracts in Brett Pesce and Brady Skjei, not to mention seven legitimate NHL-caliber defenders on the roster. There was speculation before the season began that the Canes would move one of their defenders to bring in another scoring threat, but as the season began, that chatter died down.

Would the Hurricanes now entertain a defender-for-goalie swap?

The goalies who might be available are also few and far between, though. Most teams at this point in the season are not ready to “give up” on their playoff chances, nor do many teams have a true glut of NHL-level goaltending.