Hurricanes’ Frederik Andersen Reveals He Suffered an MCL Tear Before Playoffs
The Carolina Hurricanes were recently eliminated from the second round of the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs, but had they survived, starting goaltender Frederik Andersen could’ve potentially returned.
On Wednesday, Andersen, who missed the postseason due to injury, spoke to reporters during his year-end press conference and revealed he suffered an MCL tear on Apr. 16. That served as his final game of the season, where he lost 7-4 to the Colorado Avalanche.
Despite this injury, the 6’4” netminder nearly made a comeback before Carolina fell 6-2 in Game 7 of its second-round series against the New York Rangers. Unfortunately, he simply ran out of time.
Without Andersen, the Hurricanes turned to back-up Antti Raanta in the playoffs. In 13 starts, the 33-year-old posted a 6-5-0 record along with one shutout, a 2.26 goals-against average and a .922 save percentage.
But the injuries kept piling up as Raanta was forced to exit in Game 7 versus the Rangers after suffering a lower-body injury. In his absence, the club turned to its third-string goaltender Pyotr Kochetkov, who went on to allow three goals on 12 shots against.
Suffice to say, Carolina endured its fair share of goaltending concerns during the playoffs. And before them, as well. The injury to Andersen certainly put this franchise at a disadvantage down the stretch.
Now, Andersen, 32, will continue rehabbing his knee during the off-season and is expected to be ready for training camp in the fall. At which point, he’ll attempt to rebound from his injury-plagued 2021-22 campaign.
After spending five years with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Andersen departed through free agency and ultimately joined the Hurricanes, signing a two-year, $9-million contract last July. His deal carries a $4.5 million cap hit per season and is set to expire during the 2023 off-season.
During his inaugural campaign in Carolina, Andersen made 52 appearances and earned a 35-14-3 record along with four shutouts. In total, he registered a career-best 2.17 goals-against average and a .922 save percentage – his highest percentage since 2013-14.
For his career, the native of Herning, Denmark, has logged 445 games across nine NHL seasons. He owns a 261-114-51 record, 23 shutouts, a 2.59 goals-against average and a .916 save percentage.
In the playoffs, however, he’s proven to be unreliable at times and largely became known for his late-season woes in Toronto. That was part of the reason general manager Kyle Dubas and the franchise decided to move on from the veteran goalie last summer.
With the Maple Leafs, the former seventh-round selection produced a mediocre 2.78 goals-against average and a .916 save percentage over 25 playoff contests. He also lost the starting job to Jack Campbell during last year’s postseason.
To date, Andersen has yet to overcome this troubling narrative. Sadly, due to his MCL injury, he didn’t receive an opportunity to showcase himself during the 2022 playoffs.
Andersen is set to enter his age-33 season in 2022-23, where he’ll hope to remain healthy throughout the entire schedule.
-Thomas Hall
Twitter: @ThomasHall85
Photo: All-Pro Reels. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.