Carolina Hurricanes goalie to have surgery, miss rest of season while rehabbing

Raleigh

Carolina Hurricanes goalie Pyotr Kochetkov will have surgery and likely will miss the remainder of the 2025-26 season, coach Rod Brind’Amour said Monday.

Kochetkov took part in Sunday’s practice session at the Lenovo Center and was believed to be the probable starter for Monday’s game against the New York Rangers. But on Monday, the Hurricanes placed the young goalie on injured reserve, and Brind’Amour made the announcement a few hours before game time.

Brind’Amour said Kochetkov, 26, has been dealing with a lower-body issue all season and made the decision to undergo surgery and then rehab the rest of this season. In an interview on the Canes pregame show, he added Kochetkov had a hip ailment.

Kochetkov’s surgery is another blow to the injury-riddled Hurricanes. The Canes’ top forward, Seth Jarvis, and best defenseman, Jaccob Slavin, remain sidelined, and their status is listed as “week to week.” Defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere missed Monday’s game with a lower-body concern.

Despite the injuries, the Canes went into Monday’s game with a 23-11-3 record, leading both the Metropolitan Division and the Eastern Conference.

Without Kochetkov, Brind’Amour said the Canes must rely on Brandon Bussi and veteran Frederik Andersen, who has had his own injury issues. Bussi, slated as Monday’s starter, has been one of most remarkable stories of the NHL season, coming to the Canes off waivers from the Florida Panthers before the season and putting together a 12-1-1 record that included a nine-game win streak that tied Cam Ward’s franchise record.

Kochetkov had played in nine games this season, with a 6-2-0 record, 2.22 goals-against average and .899 save percentage. His overall record is 71-38-12 with 11 career shutouts.

“He didn’t feel right all year,” Brind’Amour said. “He’s been playing great. That’s the hard part. You can kind of fight through it, but he didn’t want to take it that way, so we’ll get it fixed and go from there.”

Kochetkov did not play in the first 11 games of the season, making his first start Nov. 4 against the Rangers and notching a 26-save shutout.

The Canes were in the position of likely carrying three goalies this season. That’s not the case anymore.

“The luxury we had is no longer a luxury,” Brind’Amour said.

Brind’Amour called the season “unprecedented” in terms of the injuries. Only one defenseman, Sean Walker, has been available every game.

“We went a couple of years when we didn’t have our D get any injuries,” he said. “We were pretty lucky then, but now it’s been all year. Every team has a certain degree of it … We’ve just got to figure it out.”

This story was originally published December 29, 2025 at 5:39 PM.