Without much surprise, Frederik Andersen has been named among the NHL's best pending UFAs.
The Carolina Hurricanes are in an excellent spot at this point in the playoffs. At the time of this writing, they have a commanding 3-0 series lead over the Philadelphia Flyers in the second round. This is after they swept the Ottawa Senators in the first round.
There are many reasons behind the Hurricanes' dominant start to the post-season, but goaltender Frederik Andersen is the biggest. After a tough regular-season that saw Andersen finish with an .874 save percentage, he has been simply fantastic for Carolina during the playoffs.
In seven games so far this post-season, Anderson has a 7-0 record, a 1.02 goals-against average, a .957 save percentage, and two shutouts. Now, he has earned some big praise for it.
Andersen was recently given the No. 17 spot on Chris Johnston's top 20 pending UFA rankings for The Athletic.
"The biggest question surrounding Andersen in recent years has been durability. However, he’s had an incredibly strong start to the playoffs for the red-hot Hurricanes this spring, which should at least attract attention from teams searching for a short-term upgrade in net," Johnston wrote.
Given how well Andersen has played this post-season, it is understandable that he is being viewed among the best pending UFAs heading into the summer. This is especially so when noting that there are not many other notable goalies who can hit the free-agent market on July 1.
Yet, with how well Andersen has played this post-season, it would be completely understandable if the Hurricanes looked to keep the 36-year-old around beyond this season. Time will tell what happens on that front.