The Carolina Hurricanes have released goaltender Jaroslav Halak from his professional tryout offer.
The 38-year-old Slovakian keeper joined the team on Nov. 6. Later that day, the Hurricanes announced that starter Frederik Andersen had a blood clotting issue, with no timetable for a return.
Halak is one of the more experienced backup goaltenders in the NHL. He spent last year with the New York Rangers, putting up a 10-9-5 record with a shutout and a .903 save percentage in 25 games. Drafted in the ninth round back in 2003, Halak spent the first four years of his NHL career with the Montreal Canadiens. He was the AHL’s top goaltender in 2006-07 but ultimately lost the starting job in the playoffs to Carey Price.
Halak would reclaim the throne in Montreal in 2009-10, with his underdog playoff run somehow sending the Canadiens to the Eastern Conference final after knocking off the top two teams in the league, Washington and Pittsburgh.
Halak was traded to St. Louis in the summer of 2010, with the Canadiens electing to go with Price long-term. He won the Jennings Trophy in 2011-12 after he and Brian Elliott combined to have the league’s best goals-against average. Halak would go on to share starting duties in St. Louis for a few years before joining the New York Islanders in 2014-15, where he posted a career-best record of 38-17-4 with six shutouts in 59 games.
Since Andersen was injured, the Hurricanes have rolled with a goaltending duo of Pyotr Kochetkov and veteran Antti Raanta. Kochetkov nabbed a shutout on Nov. 11, his first game back with the club since Andersen was sidelined. Raanta has gone 2-1-0 in that span, helping the Hurricanes to a fourth-place spot in the Metropolitan Division.
The Hurricanes have been one of the hottest teams in the division, with a 7-3-0 record over the past 10 games.
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