Hurricanes fans had a couple of bigger news items drop on Thursday, and neither had to do with practice before they meet the Washington Capitals on Friday.
First up, the third goalie situation is no longer a situation. As suspected, Carolina was looking to avoid a team trying to snap up Cayden Primeau off waivers and carried him into Opening Night, essentially waiting for the right time to send him down to Chicago. Apparently that day was the 24 hours between Wednesday and Thursday, as the Hurricanes
announced they were ready to send Primeau down. It would appear that the timing was right, as 2 PM on Thursday passed and no one claimed the goalie.
Primeau now heads over to Chicago where he had an excellent season with the Wolves and earn an NHL-level salary for playing there at a little over $900k/year. He’ll see action and stay sharp in case there are issues with either Pytor Kochetkov or Brandon Bussi.
Kochetkov was in the starter’s crease for Thursday’s practice, however with the Canes playing a back to back Friday and Saturday, it’s possible it was seen as his best chance for work before Saturday’s game. The Canes have another morning skate on Friday prior to the Capitals game, and that’s when we’ll see the night’s starter as they’ll likely not have one before the Philadelphia game. There’s little doubt of course that both will play this weekend.
Either way, knowing that Primeau is safely in Chicago and will stay ready gives the team a safety net in case this is a the goalie setup they have for the rest of the season.
Also on Thursday some good news dropped for fans who live the Hurricanes’ broadcast footprint but don’t live in the Raleigh area. Following the announcement that the NHL had secured coverage on Fubofor those who like having streaming providers, the Hurricanes announced an agreement with Cox Media Group and Gray Media in North Carolina to expand the “Saturday Night Hockey” package that was initially just going to be on either WRAL or WRAZ in Raleigh.
The announcement will put the 10-game package on free, over the air channels in Charlotte, Wilmington, the Southeastern North Carolina market served by WITN, the Greenville/Spartanburg/Asheville area, Myrtle Beach, and Charleston at least for Friday’s game against Washington. Down the road, other channels will be listed.
You can click the announcement above if you’re a fan of the team in one of those areas—this agreement will likely bring the Canes throughout both North and South Carolina, and attempts to capture the Charlotte market where winning is at a bit of a premium right now.
Rumors are strong that the NHL will be announcing their satellite partner for these channels soon. In the meantime, as a reminder Friday’s game will be on this over-the-air setup as well as the Hurricanes Hockey Network available through a subscription on Prime Video, Spectrum Cable, and Fubo TV. As always if you live outside the Canes’ footprint, you’ll need to subscribe to either Center Ice or ESPN Select (formerly ESPN +).
