Smith, the puck-moving defenseman, has 47 points in 123 career NHL games played but last appeared in the NHL with Pittsburgh all the way back in 2022-23. He spent all of 2023-24 with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (AHL) and had nine goals and 43 points in 63 games played.
The Hurricanes will turn to Kochetkov between the pipes for the fourth time this season when they face off against the Vancouver Canucks on Monday. Kochetkov has had up-and-down results through a small three-game sample size this season (2-1-0) but was excellent in his last outing, saving 30 of 32 shots (.938 SV%) in a 4-2 win over the Calgary Flames. The Hurricanes enter the action on Monday as -125 road favorites against a Canucks club riding a four-game winning streak.
The Hurricanes will likely turn to Kochetkov between the pipes for the fourth time this season when they face off against the Vancouver Canucks on Monday. Kochetkov has had up-and-down results through a small three-game sample size this season (2-1-0) but was excellent in his last outing, saving 30 of 32 shots (.938 SV%) in a 4-2 win over the Calgary Flames. The Hurricanes enter the action on Monday as -125 road favorites against a Canucks club riding a four-game winning streak.
On the tail end of a back-to-back, the Canadiens will turn to Primeau between the pipes on Sunday against the Philadelphia Flyers. Despite allowing six combined goals in his last two outings (0-0-1), Primeau has been solid in limited action for the Canadiens lately, posting a .915 SV%. The Canadiens enter the action on Sunday as +146 road underdogs against the Flyers.
The Hurricanes will continue their early-season goalie rotation and switch back to Kochetkov in the crease on Thursday against the Calgary Flames. Kochetkov had a poor effort in his last outing, allowing four goals on 19 shots (.789 SV%) in a 4-3 loss to the St. Louis Blues, but was stellar in his only other outing, saving 24 of 26 shots (.923 SV%) in a 4-2 victory over the New Jersey Devils. The Hurricanes enter the action on Thursday as sizeable -193 road favorites despite visiting a Flames squad that is one of four teams without a regulation loss (5-0-1).
The Hurricanes will continue their early-season goalie rotation and switch back to Kochetkov in the crease on Thursday against the Calgary Flames. Kochetkov had a poor effort in his last outing, allowing four goals on 19 shots (.789 SV%) in a 4-3 loss to the St. Louis Blues, but was stellar in his only other outing, saving 24 of 26 shots (.923 SV%) in a 4-2 victory over the New Jersey Devils. The Hurricanes enter the action on Thursday as sizeable -193 road favorites despite visiting a Flames squad that is one of four teams without a regulation loss (5-0-1).
Jett Luchanko will be a healthy scratch on Tuesday, allowing the hard-hitting Deslauriers to make his season debut. The 33-year-old Deslauriers played 60 games with the Flyers last season, posting four points (1G / 3A), 89 penalty minutes, and 188 hits.
In their first game of the season, the Hurricanes were defeated 4-1 by the Tampa Bay Lightning with Frederik Andersen in net. The Hurricanes will turn to Kochetkov for game two on Tuesday against the New Jersey Devils. The 25-year-old Kochetkov has seen his NHL workload increase in his first three seasons, highlighted by a stellar 2.33 GAA and .911 SV% in 42 appearances last season (23-13-4). The Hurricanes enter the action on Tuesday as -161 home favorites against a Devils club that defeated Utah HC yesterday afternoon.
In their first game of the season, the Hurricanes were defeated 4-1 by the Tampa Bay Lightning with Frederik Andersen in net. The Hurricanes will likely turn to Kochetkov for game two on Tuesday against the New Jersey Devils. The 25-year-old Kochetkov has seen his NHL workload increase in his first three seasons, highlighted by a stellar 2.33 GAA and .911 SV% in 42 appearances last season (23-13-4). The Hurricanes enter the action on Tuesday as -161 home favorites against a Devils club that defeated Utah HC yesterday afternoon.
The Canadiens won their season opener 1-0 over the Toronto Maple Leafs last night, courtesy of an outstanding 48-save shutout performance by Sam Montembeault. However, the Canadiens will turn to Primeau between the pipes on Thursday for the tail end of their back-to-back set. The 25-year-old Primeau faced the heaviest workload of his young career last season and was impressive doing so, posting a solid 2.99 GAA and .910 SV% in 23 appearances (8-9-4). The Canadiens enter action on Thursday as sizeable +239 road underdogs against the Boston Bruins.
Carolina and Jarvis may have changed the NHL free agent game forever on Friday after they signed an eight-year deal worth $63.2 million ($7.9M AAV) that is much lower than average annual salaries because Jarvis was willing to defer salary. The 22-year-old center was Carolina's 2020 1st-round pick (13th overall) and broke out in 2023-24 finishing second on the Hurricanes' in points with 33 goals, 67 points 176 SOG and a +23 plus/minus through 81 games played.
Carolina was hit with some unfortunate off-season news after forward Jesper Fast was announced out for the entire 2024-25 season after undergoing neck surgery last week. The 32-year-old right-winger was entering his fifth season in Carolina and had six goals and 19 points in 73 games played while occupying Carolina's bottom six in 2023-24.
Badinka was a second-round pick (No.34 overall) in this year's NHL Draft. The 18-year-old blueliner played for Malmo (SHL) during the 2024 season, posting four points (1G / 3A) and a minus-9 rating in 33 games.
Sawchenko spent the 2023-24 season with the Canucks' organization, where he played the entire season in the AHL. The 26-year-old netminder was 4-1-0 with a 2.12 GAA and .924 SV% in six regular season games with Abbotsford (AHL) and was 2-4 with a 2.96 GAA and .898 SV% in six AHL playoff games. Expect him to start the 2024-25 season in Cleveland (AHL).
The Hurricanes made up for their lost pieces on Monday by signing Sean Walker to a five-year deal worth $18.0 million ($3.6M AAV). The 29-year-old was acquired by Colorado at the trade deadline in 2023-24 and had 10 goals, 29 points, 50 PIMs and a +11 plus/minus through 81 games with the Flyers and Avalanche last season.
Gostisbehere will return to Carolina after one very successful season in Detroit after he signed a three-year contract worth $9.6 million ($3.2M AAV). The 31-year-old completed his 10th NHL season in 2023-24 and had 10 goals and 56 points in 81 games played.
