Frederik Andersen is leaving the Carolina Hurricanes. The 36-year-old goaltender has agreed to a one-year contract with the Edmonton Oilers, according to a report from Kevin Weekes Wednesday.
Andersen spent parts of four seasons with Carolina, and this year he made 35 appearances for the Hurricanes, going 12 in the win column with an .874 save percentage.
-
That number is not going to make anyone forget his Stanley Cup run. It is what it is.
Carolina's crease already looked different by the end of the year anyway. Brandon Bussi logged 39 appearances of his own, posting a .893 save percentage and emerging as the answer in net.
Pyotr Kochetkov also factored in, appearing nine times with a .898 save percentage. The Hurricanes finished 53-22-7 with 113 points, second overall in the league and first in their division.
Edmonton is where things get interesting. The Oilers already have Tristan Jarry, who went 16-plus wins in 33 appearances with an .882 save percentage, and Connor Ingram, who posted a .898 mark over 32 outings.
So why add a 36-year-old on a one-year deal?
Oilers now have three veteran goalies fighting for one net
That is the real story here. Edmonton finished 41-30-11 with 93 points this season, 14th overall, a far cry from Carolina's ceiling.
The Oilers did close strong, winning their last game 6-1 over Vancouver. But adding Andersen to a crease that already has Jarry and Ingram under contract is a curious call from GM Stan Bowman.
Someone is going to be the odd man out, and it is not going to be Connor McDavid or Leon Draisaitl eating into the cap sheet. Their combined cap hits alone top 26 million dollars.
This is the kind of depth move that looks fine on paper in July and turns into a training camp headache by September. Three goalies want starts. Only one gets the net on most nights.
Bob's take: this is a bad fit unless Edmonton already knows something about Jarry or Ingram's health that has not gone public yet. Otherwise it is a crowded, expensive way to build a crease.
-
Andersen gets a shot at a contender after leaving a Carolina team that had already started replacing him internally. Whether Edmonton's goaltending logjam sorts itself out before puck drop on next season is the question nobody in that locker room wants to answer yet.
Is signing Frederik Andersen a smart low-cost move for the Oilers, or a wasted roster spot in a crowded crease?
Also read on Markerzone.com:
Terrible news for Maple Leafs fans involving McKenna: it's going to cost them dearly
