The Hurricanes cleared up two notable off-ice questions on Thursday, and both came with Friday’s matchup against the Washington Capitals in view.
The first involved Cayden Primeau, and the answer was exactly what Carolina appeared to be setting up all along. The team announced it was prepared to send him down, and by the time the 2 PM deadline passed, no one had claimed the goalie on waivers. Primeau is now headed to Chicago, where he had an excellent season with the Wolves and will make a little over $900k/year at the NHL level while staying ready if Pytor Kochetkov or Brandon Bussi run into trouble.
That move removes the uncertainty around Carolina’s third goalie spot and gives the Hurricanes a clean safety net if this is the setup they ride with for the rest of the season.
Kochetkov, meanwhile, was in the starter’s crease at Thursday’s practice. With Carolina facing a back-to-back on Friday and Saturday, that could simply have been the best chance to get him work before Saturday’s game.
The team will have another morning skate Friday before facing the Capitals, and that’s when the night’s starter should become clear, since there likely won’t be one before the Philadelphia game. Either way, both goalies are expected to get into action this weekend.
The other big development on Thursday was aimed at fans outside the Raleigh area. After the NHL announced coverage on Fubo for viewers who use streaming providers, the Hurricanes said they had reached an agreement with Cox Media Group and Gray Media in North Carolina to broaden the “Saturday Night Hockey” package that had initially been set for WRAL or WRAZ in Raleigh.
The 10-game package will air on free, over-the-air channels in Charlotte, Wilmington, the Southeastern North Carolina market served by WITN, the Greenville/Spartanburg/Asheville area, Myrtle Beach, and Charleston at least for Friday’s game against Washington. Additional channels will be announced later.
For fans in those markets, that’s a meaningful expansion of the team’s reach, and it also gives Carolina a chance to reach the Charlotte market where winning is at a premium right now.
Rumors are strong that the NHL will soon announce its satellite partner for those channels. For now, Friday’s game will be available on that over-the-air setup, along with the Hurricanes Hockey Network through a subscription on Prime Video, Spectrum Cable, and Fubo TV. Fans outside the Hurricanes’ footprint will still need Center Ice or ESPN Select, formerly ESPN +.
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All of that matters because Carolina is also looking at Winnipeg Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck, and the path to getting him is not a simple one. His situation in Winnipeg has created real trade friction, enough that the Hurricanes may need an expanded deal structure to make the move work, which leaves their next step tied to how the Nikishin talks finally shake out. [Read more 🡒]
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Hurricanes Draft Class Just Broke From A Longstanding Carolina Pattern
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What stands out most is how much this class deviates from a familiar Carolina draft tendency, even before anyone gets to the usual questions about how long the prospects will take to develop. The Hurricanes have spent years showing a certain comfort level with one type of international target, so a class built this way naturally invites a look at the organizations broader scouting lean, especially with Hakansson as the lone defenseman in the group and the first player they took overall. [Read more 🡒]