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The Carolina Hurricanes have high hopes of advancing deep into the Stanley Cup playoffs after beating the New Jersey Devils in the opening round. As they prepare for a more difficult challenge in the second round against the Washington Capitals, they have rewarded goaltender Frederik Andersen with a one-year contract extension.
Andersen was scheduled to become a free agent in the upcoming offseason. However, he signed a deal that will pay him $2.75 million in salary in the 2025-26 season and also allow him to earn $750,000 in performance bonuses. The free-agent market for goaltenders is quite thin and Andersen's deal takes one more name off the market.
Even with the contract extension, the Hurricanes are not spending a major portion of their budget on goaltender salaries. Andersen is the Hurricanes' top goaltender and he shares the net with Pyotor Kochetkov. The combined salaries of the goaltenders is less than $6 million.
Prior to joining the Hurricanes prior to the 2021-22 season as a free agent, the 35-year-old Andersen also played for the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Anaheim Ducks. He has had the best seasons of his career with the Hurricanes. General manager Eric Tulsky has great confidence in Andersen's ability to provide a steady performance in net.
“Frederik has played extremely well for us and ranks in the top 10 all-time for winning percentage by an NHL goalie,” Tulsky said, per ESPN. “We're excited that he will be staying with the team for next season.”
Andersen coming off solid regular season with Hurricanes
The Hurricanes are clearly pleased with Andersen during his four seasons in Carolina. He had a record of 22-13-8 record this year with 2.50 goals against average and an .899 winning percentage.
Andersen is a two-time All-Star, and he had his best season in 2021-22. He had a 35-14-3 record with a 2.17 GAA and a .922 save percentage.
Andersen played four games in the opening round series against the Devils. He was 3-1 in the series with a 1.59 GAA and a .936 save percentage.
The Hurricanes face a major challenge in the second round against the Capitals. Washington finished first in the Metropolitan Division. While the Caps appeared to be in cruise control down the home stretch of the regular season, they turned it back on in the first round against the Montreal Canadiens.
Alex Ovechkin & Co. eliminated the Canadiens in five games, and there is no level of panic with Spencer Carbery's team. The Capitals have home-ice advantage in the series, and the Canes will have a major challenge on their hands in this series.
In addition to the explosive Ovechkin, Andersen and the Hurricanes will to contend with hard-hitting Tom Wilson and a balanced Washington attack if they are going to survive and advance.
