Montreal Canadiens: So the Carolina Hurricanes need a goalie you say?

The Carolina Hurricanes lost both goalies against the Toronto Maple Leafs, and if they need bodies to fill the void, the Montreal Canadiens could help.

Saturday night’s game will be a defining moment for the Toronto Maple Leafs, yet a horrible situation for the Carolina Hurricanes. The Canes won the game but lost both of their goaltenders due to player collisions. James Reimer was forced to be taken out after Jaccob Slavin was pushed into him, while Petr Mrazek left the game after his big collision with Kyle Clifford on a puck chase. Emergency goalie David Ayres came in and got the Hurricanes the win, but they have nothing else to get them through the grind, and this is where the Montreal Canadiens come in.

Carolina is desperately going around the market, looking for goaltending help. According to Pierre Lebrun, the Hurricanes are planning on calling up AHL goalies Anton Forsberg and Alex Nedeljkovic.

The two netminders have been splitting starts with the Charlotte Checkers and have alright numbers with the team. Forsberg is 15-9-2 in 27 games with a .905 save percentage while Nedeljkovic is 15-10-2 with the same percentage.

Forsberg, being the older of the two goalies, does have more NHL experience than Nedeljkovic. The 27-year-old saw 35 games with the Chicago Blackhawks in the 2017-18 season sporting a .908 save percentage. In total, Forsberg has 45 NHL games under his belt and even has an assist to show for it.

Nedeljkovic, on the other hand, has only two NHL games, both with the Carolina Hurricanes. They were pretty memorable starts with the first coming in the 2016-17 season with him stopping all 17 shots while the second saw him sport a .923 save percentage.

More from Editorials

• Montreal Canadiens: Senators Rebuild At Crisis Point As Kent Hughes Moves Forward
• Montreal Canadiens: Jonathan Drouin Continues Charity Work In Montreal After Leaving Habs
• Montreal Canadiens: Laval Rocket Lineup Going To Be Must Watch
• Montreal Canadiens: Jesse Ylönen Contract Extension Analysis
• Montreal Canadiens: Top 31 Prospects – #31 Quentin Miller

The Hurricanes likely plan to run Forsberg, but with Reimer being out long-term and they’re still waiting on Mrazek, the team is going to get desperate. Not to mention the fact that Carolina is still battling for a playoff spot. They currently hold on to the second wild-card; however, the Columbus Blue Jackets are right behind them tied with 74 points.

Could the Montreal Canadiens help out?

Cayden Primeau is the number one guy with the Laval Rocket, and he’s willing the team to wins. He’s untouchable, in my opinion. Michael McNiven is also down there, but he’s yet to play an NHL game despite being called up a handful of times. Would the Hurricanes be interested in Keith Kinkaid or Charlie Lindgren?

The Kinkaid experiment has been a disaster as his inconsistency booked him a ticket to the minors. And to make matters worse, his play with the Rocket hasn’t been stellar. Is this a scenario where a change in the environment helps improve play? There was a time where the New Jersey Devils relied on Kinkaid for wins when Corey Schneider was down with injury and the then 28-year-old answered the bell.

Lindgren is another possibility. There was a time where the Montreal Canadiens were excited for what the goaltender could do, and he helped the team out when Carey Price went down during the 2017-18 season. The concerning thing is that Lindgren hasn’t looked the best backing up Price. You can also bring up his numbers in Laval, but they were never spectacular, even when he was at his peak.

Kinkaid and Lindgren would be too optimistic hopefuls for the Hurricanes and moving the former would be better for the Montreal Canadiens. Kinkaid is a UFA at the end of the season, while Lindgren has another year on his deal at $750,000.

The Montreal Canadiens may not have the best offers for goaltending help, but their options nonetheless. Carolina can’t afford to be too picky, and if the stars align, perhaps Marc Bergevin can add another draft pick for the draft in Montreal.