The Carolina Hurricanes have signed free agent goaltender Petr Mrazek to a two-year contract with a total cost of $6.25 million. This gives him a cap hit of $3.125 million each season.
Carolina source confirms Petr Mrazek is returning to the Canes. #signingseason
— John Shannon (@JShannonhl) July 1, 2019
Petr Mrazek Signs With the Carolina Hurricanes
The Hurricanes keep their starting goaltender with this deal. Mrazek spent the first five years of career mostly as a back-up with the Detroit Red Wings. In February 2018 he would be traded to the Philadelphia Flyers for picks before signing with the Carolina Hurricanes in July 2018. He has put up a 101-78-26 career record in 223 career appearances with 200 career starts. He also has a 2.61 goals against average, .911 save percentage, and 18 shutouts. Mrazek has a career 9-11 record in 22 career Stanley Cup Playoff games, with a 2.37 goals against average, .910 save percentage, and five shutouts.
Last season, Mrazek played in 40 games all of them being starts. He put up a 23-14-3 record with a 2.39 goals against average and .914 save percentage and four shutouts. In the playoffs he went 5-5 with a 2.73 goals against average, .894 save percentage and two shutouts. This his best year since the 2015-16 season where he went 27-16-6 with a 2.33 goals against, .921 save percentage and four shutouts. He also has added three career assists.
What This Means for the Future of Petr Mrazek
Mrazek had a solid season last year in his first year in Carolina. The goaltending duo between Mrazek and Curtis McElhinney was the driving force of the Hurricanes Stanley Cup Playoff run. He’s shown that he can be a reliable goaltender in net but the one issue is he hasn’t had a season where he’s started 50 or 60 games. One of the biggest things that set Mrazek apart from other goalies is his athleticism.
Looking ahead to next season it wouldn’t be a shock if Mrazek shared the duties in net. However, with McElhinney signing with the Tampa Bay Lightning, this may not be very likely. Over the past few years, we have seen a lot more team relying on both of their goalies including the Islanders last year with Robin Lehner and Thomas Greiss. Hopefully, Mrazek can pick up where he left off last season and put together another solid season.
