Andersen to miss around 8-12 weeks after knee surgery

Carolina Hurricanes goaltender Frederik Andersen will undergo knee surgery Friday and is expected to be sidelined for 8-12 weeks, the team confirmed Thursday.

Andersen hasn't played since Oct. 26 against the Seattle Kraken. He turned aside 18 of 19 shots during the Hurricanes' 4-1 victory.

Carolina head coach Rod Brind'Amour said the veteran netminder "came up a little gimpy" after the game. Andersen was labeled week-to-week with a lower-body injury a few days later.

The Hurricanes initially believed the Dane's ailment wouldn't keep him out long term, but Brind'Amour revealed last week that Andersen would be out "way longer" than expected, per The Hockey News' Ryan Henkel.

Pyotr Kochetkov has been outstanding since Andersen went down, going 8-1-0 with a .911 save percentage and 2.16 goals against average. Spencer Martin, meanwhile, has gone 1-1-0 with an .891 clip in a backup role.

"Obviously, Freddie has been great for us, and it stinks to lose him," general manager Eric Tulsky said, per the team website. "But Pyotr has also been great for us and we are very comfortable with him and Spencer."

When asked if he's thinking about exploring the trade market for a goalie, Tulsky said "of course" he's considering multiple scenarios.

"We want to be prepared for whatever may happen," he said. "But we want to preserve flexibility to make sure we have the ability to address our most important needs.

"The way our goalies are playing right now buys us time to assess the situation and make sure we use our assets where they are needed most."

Andersen was limited to 16 regular-season games in 2023-24 because of a blood-clotting issue.

The 35-year-old has posted three victories and a .941 save percentage in four games this campaign.