The Carolina Hurricanes are entering the 2026/27 season on the back of their second Stanley Cup victory in franchise history, and while the Eastern Conference is absolutely loaded, this is a team that has plenty of confidence in repeating as Stanley Cup Champions.
Their home opener didn’t quite go the way the team expected, as they fell 1-0 to the rival Florida Panthers, picking up an overtime point in the process, and given the depth and talent in the organization, they’re among the best teams in the league. Unfortunately, the team needed to make some decisions on key depth pieces, and ahead of game No. 2 on the season, they’ve learned the fate of a recent waived player.
Cayden Primeau Clears Waivers for the Hurricanes
The player in question is goaltender Cayden Primeau, who came to the Hurricanes this off-season after spending the 2025/26 season split with the Toronto Maple Leafs and the ‘Canes AHL affiliate the Chicago Wolves.
This year, he was hoping to push for a full-time NHL role following the departure of Frederik Andersen, but instead, it’s Pytor Kochetkov who will serve as the primary backup to Brandon Bussi this season. As a result, Primeau was placed on waivers yesterday, and on Thursday, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman revealed that he had cleared waivers, meaning he will head back to the AHL to lead the Wolves once again.
Once upon a time, Primeau was seen as a full-time NHLer with the Montreal Canadiens, but since struggling there, he’s failed to catch on at the highest level, and now, after 56 games in the AHL a year ago where he posted a 2.41 GAA and a .916 save percentage, he’s likely to settle into a role there again.
Will Primeau be Needed by the Hurricanes This Year?
Of course, injuries play a key role in any teams failure or success at the NHL level, and if either Kochetkov or Bussi were to go down, Primeau has 58 games of NHL experience under his belt. In that time, the 27-year-old has posted a 3.73 GAA and an .883 save percentage, and while he’s shown flashes of potential, those numbers simply don’t hold up at the highest level, and it may end up holding him back from a full-time role in the league.
However, there’s nothing wrong with being a very, very good AHL goaltender, and given how many NHL teams out there will need goaltending over the next eight months, there’s a chance that a team could come calling.
Ultimately, Primeau was once hyped up as a potential piece of the Canadiens rebuild, but now, he’s down in the AHL for the Hurricanes, with no team willing to pick him up on waivers, but with another strong season down in the AHL, there’s a chance we still see him get a significant opportunity in the NHL one day.
Hurricanes Learn the Waivers Fate of Seven-Year NHL Veteran