Hurricanes goaltender Pyotr Kochetkov might be an option in the playoffs after all.
The team announced today that they’ve assigned the netminder to AHL Chicago for a conditioning stint. The move sounds pretty routine, but you can still feel the patience wearing thin when you’re waiting on a goalie who’s been sidelined.
Kochetkov has been out since Dec. 20 after undergoing a lower-body surgery that was thought to be season-ending. Now, he can be in the minors for up to six days or three games, whichever comes first. Carolina will need to apply to the NHL for an extension if they want to keep him there past that.
It’s not been a clean road back. The 26-year-old’s season was virtually over before it began. He first started dealing with the lower-body issue in training camp. It wasn’t initially expected to impact his regular-season availability, but he ended up not being able to make his season debut until November after looking good in one conditioning start in Chicago. Even then, Kochetkov never got back to 100%. He was in and out of the lineup throughout the next several weeks. He made eight starts and one relief appearance, managing a 6-2-0 record with a .899 SV% and 2.33 GAA, before electing for surgery. You almost understand the logic—almost—but at the same time, it’s still a long stretch to come back from.
While Kochetkov has been away, Carolina’s other pieces have had to cover. His absence, plus the veteran Frederik Andersen‘s struggles, has paved the way for preseason waiver claim Brandon Bussi to fully claim the starter’s crease in Carolina ahead of the postseason. With him logging a 30-6-1 record in 37 starts with a .890 SV% and 2.52 GAA, there’s little question about who will be starting Game 1. Still, those numbers are below average on the surface. They aren’t much better when taking a look behind the curtain.
Out of the 48 goalies to play 30-plus games this season, Bussi’s -0.3 goals saved above expected ranks 26th, per MoneyPuck. So sure, he’s a middle-of-the-road starting option—still a great outcome from someone initially expected to be their third-stringer—but he hasn’t been dominant by any stretch. And if you’re Carolina, dominance is the thing you want most when playoffs get tight, because one bad night turns into a whole series.
Kochetkov obviously wasn’t much better in his brief action earlier this season, and throwing him into the playoff fire after such a lengthy absence carries risk. He is, however, coming off a strong enough 2024-25 campaign that saw him log a 6.0 GSAx, and he’s made at least one playoff appearance for Carolina in each of the last four seasons. Still, goaltending has been a persistent relative weak spot for the Canes this season and in past playoff runs. It stands to reason that Bussi, while overwhelmingly likely to take the crease for Game 1 later this month, will be on a short leash. If Kochetkov is available, that’s an even-better insurance policy for head coach Rod Brind’Amour. And honestly, you don’t want that insurance policy to ever get used—but it helps knowing it exists.
