On Apr. 5, the Professional Hockey Writers’ Association (PHWA)’s Carolina chapter nominated their 2024 Bill Masterton Memorial trophy pick from the Carolina Hurricanes: goaltender Frederik Andersen.
The honor is given to players who “exemplify the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication to hockey.” For Andersen, perseverance has defined his 2023-2024 season. In November 2023, the team announced he would be out indefinitely due to a blood-clotting issue. The issue was later revealed publicly in January by the team to be deep-vein thrombosis resulting in pulmonary embolisms.
Fans didn’t expect Andersen to return this year, or even at all. Blood clotting is something that would likely be a career-ender or life-threatening in some cases. But not for Andersen. He was given a three to six-month recovery timetable and returned to starting as Goaltender One for Carolina in March. Andersen’s return has been nothing short of great, as he went 7-0 throughout March’s games. He also had two shutouts and is 11-2-0 for the year. Other Andersen stats since returning include a .927 save percentage, and not allowing more than two goals in any of his games. He will likely be starting for the first playoff game at PNC Arena in the net, rotating with rookie goaltender Pyotr Kochetkov for starts during the postseason.
Carolina head coach Rod Brind’Amour told reporters on Apr. 5 that he believes “the story is not quite done yet with him… Hopefully, it ends with something better” when asked about Andersen’s nomination. Andersen has been a fan favorite during his tenure as a Hurricane, and his return has become a cause for excitement with Raleigh hockey fans.
The Masterson trophy winner will be announced during the 2024 NHL Awards on June 26.
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