Carolina Hurricanes: Is Alex Nedeljkovic an option this season?

With a difficult goaltending situation on their hands, could Alex Nedeljkovic ever land a spot between the posts for the Carolina Hurricanes?

One of the bigger hot takes this offseason for the Carolina Hurricanes has been the evidently disastrous goalie situation. With the departure of Cam Ward, the Canes no longer have a goalie with a save percentage above .900 going into this season.

This has left the goaltending up to Scott Darling and Petr Mrazek: Two goaltenders who had really bad, albeit outlier, sub-.900 save percentages during the 2017-18 season. This has led many to inquire about prospect Alex Nedeljkovic, whose surname one must copy and paste.

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For the Hurricanes this season, this will be a very tough decision to face. If Darling and Mrazek improve, it may be one they don’t even have to face. However, things aren’t always this simple.

So, have the Canes gotten so desperate as to rush Nedeljkovic into the NHL, probably underdeveloped, or does he need more time in the AHL?

Who is Nedeljkovic?

For starters, Nedeljkovic is easily one of the runners-up for the most impossible last name award, perhaps only bested by the likes of Dustin Byfuglien, Nino Niederreiter, Andreas Athanasiou, and maybe Mark Scheifele.

Joking aside, Nedeljkovic was drafted 37th overall in 2014 after putting up save percentages above .920 two seasons in a row. Afterwards, he would really struggle in three games in the ECHL and would see his save percentage drop considerably in the OHL.

Nevertheless, he looks to be steadily improving with the Carolina Hurricanes’ AHL affiliate Charlotte Checkers. Nedeljkovic posted a disappointing .881 save percentage through 25 games with the Checkers for the 2016-17 season but has kept it over .900 since.

He got a chance to play a single NHL game, in 2017. Cam Ward was pulled at the midway point of the second period, after allowing 4 goals on 19 shots. Nedeljkovic stopped all 17 shots he faced.

During the 2017-18 season, Nedeljkovic finished with a regular season save percentage of .903. This still isn’t ideal, but it is a significant improvement. Additionally, goaltenders, on average, take a longer time to develop. He also managed a .919 save percentage through eight playoff games.

Remember, = Ward didn’t record a save percentage above .900 in the NHL until his third season. Some people may dismiss Nedeljkovic due to his low AHL save percentage, but this is just how goalies generally work.

Now that there’s a better idea about his time in the organization, let’s determine if he’s fit to snatch a position this season.

The Carolina Goaltending Truel

Now, the 2018-19 Carolina Hurricanes are anyone’s guess really. Even if they can’t decide if they want to be contenders or not, they still have an elite defensive group, and some exciting, young offensive talent.

But really, the entire season rests on the goaltenders. Most teams have, at least, some sort of idea on how well their goaltenders will perform. This allows coaches to set up their team in the best way possible.

With the Hurricanes, it’s a mystery, really. Scott Darling was fantastic until he wasn’t, last season. Petr Mrazek has always been a bit inconsistent, but he’s usually decent. Last season, however, he saw his worst year ever.

It’s impossible to know the case at this point. Were these just outlier seasons, or is this the fate of the Canes this season. Well, where does Nedeljkovic come in?

At this stage, it seems that he still has some developing to do. A .903 AHL save percentage is not optimal, but then again, the entire goaltending situation isn’t optimal either.

If Darling and Mrazek can’t do any better than this, then some shaking-up is necessary. Even if Nedeljkovic doesn’t see any improvement, he should absolutely be called up if the anyone fails to reach at least a .900.  It doesn’t make much sense to start Alex in the NHL, but he is definitely an option.

Alright, but what has really been said here? If he’s bad, leave him. If he’s good call him up? Well, yes, but this is an important statement to make. The Hurricanes are completely desperate at this point. The fact that Nedeljkovic is even in the conversation at this stage in his development is pretty telling.

Ideally, he could have a few more years to develop in the AHL, but the Hurricanes are passed that. At least on the Canes, Nedeljkovic is a lot closer to the NHL than he probably should be.