The goalie carousel did not go all the way around on July 1 — it went two-thirds of the way.
Despite Don Waddell's uncertainty at signing his top netminder, Petr Mrazek opted to stay in Carolina. On the flip side, Robin Lehner left the New York Islanders for the Chicago Blackhawks with the Islanders' adding Semyon Varlamov in his place.
Mrazek, who went 23-14-3 with a 2.39 goals-against average and .914 save percentage in 40 starts in 2018-19, signed a two-year, $6.25 million deal.
As Carolina's No. 1 goalie, the 26-year-old was between the pipes for the team's seven-game upset of the Washington Capitals in the first round of the playoffs. He then started two games against the Islanders but suffered a lower-body injury in Game 2 forcing him to miss the remainder of the series. Mrazek returned for the first two games against the Bruins in the Eastern Conference Final; however, he allowed 10 goals between the two games and did not play again in the postseason.
Glad to have ya back, @pmrazek34! pic.twitter.com/hFzTf0miu7
— Carolina Hurricanes (@NHLCanes) July 1, 2019
Earlier in the day, the Hurricanes lost Mrazek's partner Curtis McElhinney, who signed a two-year, $2.6 million contract to serve as Andrei Vasilevskiy backup in Tampa Bay.
Despite continuously stressing he did not want to leave Long Island, Lehner ended up signing a one-year, $5 million contract with the Blackhawks.
The Vezina Trophy finalist and Masterton Award winner told reporters on Monday that he never "walked away from anything" and "It not working out on Long Island had nothing to do with me." He added that he was offered a contract that he didn't fully like and took a few days to think about it. When he responded, the Islanders said they had already moved on.
Here are Robin Lehner's full comments on how things went down with the Islanders. Not a good look. pic.twitter.com/N18Oot20x5
— Ben Pope (@BenPopeCST) July 2, 2019
It was revealed soon after Varlamov was the goalie they moved on to at $20 million for four seasons. The 31-year-old netminder went 20-19-9 last season with a 2.87 GAA and .909 save pct. He lost his starting role to Philipp Grubauer, who carried the Avalanche into the second round of the playoffs.
Semyon Varlamov said he believes Islanders/Long Island is right place for him and his family. Exciting to work with #Isles coaching staff, including director of goaltending Mitch Korn and goalie coach Piero Greco.
— Andrew Gross (@AGrossNewsday) July 1, 2019