Andersen Absent Due to Medical Issue The Carolina Hurricanes have brought in veteran netminder, Jaroslav Halak, on a free agent tryout. Halak, 38, joined the team for practice Monday and was a full participant in all of the drills. "Today was my first day with the team," Halak said. "I got through this and everything feels great. We'll see how it goes tomorrow. Try to get some rest today and get right back at it tomorrow. Just taking it day-by-day and seeing where it's going to go." This move comes in the wake of the announcement that goaltender Frederik Andersen will miss an undisclosed amount of time due a blood clotting issue that was discovered in a recent medial test. Frederik Andersen to Miss Time Due to Blood Clotting Issues [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/carolina-hurricanes/news/frederik-andersen-absent-due-to-medical-issue] "I found out it was 100% a thing on Saturday," Halak said on the tryout. "Obviously, you never want to see anyone get hurt, but at the same time, I was excited that I got a call and now I'm here. We'll see what happens. First practice is behind me. Obviously, it was a tough one, but hopefully I will keep getting better." The veteran goalie has played 17 seasons in the NHL for seven different teams including the Montreal Canadiens, St. Louis Blues, New York Islanders, Boston Bruins, Washington Capitals, Vancouver Canucks and, most recently, the New York Rangers. He's appeared in 581 regular-season games and posted a 295-189-69 record with a career 0.916 save percentage, 2.5 goals against average along with 53 shutouts. He has a playoff record of 17-20-0 with a 0.919 save percentage, 2.48 goals against average. One notable standout is that Halak is just five wins away from the 300 win mark. "That's one of the thing why I want to still play," Halak said. "I'm still motivated to get to 300. It's one of my goals. Obviously winning a Stanley Cup too. That's a team goal. My first one is to get to 300, but like I said, step-by-step and day-by-day and see what happens out there and where it's going to go. I'm excited to be here and practicing with these guys." Halak, who still lives up in Boston, said that he had been keeping in shape and practicing on his own as he waited for a call. "I've been skating and practicing," Halak said. "Just trying to stay in shape. But team practices are different than goalie practices. Just with the timing and all that. That's the only thing that's missing now, but once I practice more, it will come back." Halak played last season with the Rangers appearing in 25 games and posting a 0.903 save percentage and 2.72 goals against average and, despite only having played with one other Hurricane in the past (Dmitry Orlov in 2013-14 with the Washington Capitals), he's still quite familiar with the Canes. "The one thing I know about this group is that they were always hard to play against," Halak said. "They play hard and it was always a tough game to come to Raleigh or to play against them even at home. It didn't matter." Halak could provide some key depth for a team Carolina that still has Antti Raanta and Pyotr Kochetkov — who head coach Rod Brind'Amour also confirmed would be getting called up eventually too — available to them, because just one more injury could spell trouble if they don't secure a third. "We've gotta make sure we've got the position covered," Brind'Amour said after Monday's practice. "We're covering our bases here a little bit." While there's no contract as of yet for the veteran goaltender, who's just been brought in on a tryout, Halak is just hoping he can prove that he's still capable of playing in the NHL. "I'm glad to be back on the ice with a team," Halak said. "I didn't come here with a lot of expectations, but I'm here and we'll see what happens." -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Recent Articles Chatfield, Orlov, Brind'Amour on Comeback: "It was a great win for the boys" [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/carolina-hurricanes/news/chatfield-orlov-brindamour-on-comeback-it-was-a-great-win-for-the-boys] Three Takeaways: Carolina Hurricanes @ New York Islanders [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/carolina-hurricanes/analysis/the-three-takeaways-carolina-hurricanes-new-york-islanders] Player of the Game: Carolina Hurricanes @ New York Islanders [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/carolina-hurricanes/opinions/player-of-the-game-carolina-hurricanes-new-york-islanders] Image [https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MjAxNjU3NTkwNjMzOTk4MTAw/img_5742.jpg]
