Carolina Hurricanes’ Pyotr Kochetkov Just Did Something No Carolina Goalie Had Done Before

Pyotr Kochetkov sets new franchise mark© X(formerly Twitter)/@NHL

Pyotr Kochetkov put the Winnipeg Jets away without a reply on Sunday, and what followed was more than just a 7-0 final score. The Hurricanes moved to 12-2-2 through their first 15-plus games, sitting atop the Metro Division and leading the entire NHL standings with 26 points. But the number people kept going back to was 10-0-0. That is Kochetkov's personal record to start this season, and no goalie in Carolina franchise history has ever done that before. Not one. In a league where teams nervously patch together their crease depth in the offseason, Carolina just watched their answer write himself into the record books.

Kochetkov's 10-0-0 Start Rewrites the Franchise Record Books

Nobody quite knew what to expect from Kochetkov heading into this campaign. After Freddie Andersen left in free agency, Carolina chose not to go out and acquire a new goalie, instead betting entirely on Kochetkov as their internal option. That is a considerable amount of trust to place in a 27-year-old who spent much of last season dealing with injury. Kochetkov missed significant time during the 2025-26 season, which made this kind of start genuinely hard to predict.

And yet here he is. Ten starts, ten wins, zero losses. It is the best start by any goaltender in Carolina Hurricanes history. Sunday's shutout of the Jets was the clearest statement yet. When a team scores seven goals and their goalie still manages to be part of the headline, you know something larger is happening in net.

Brandon Bussi has also been available in the crease for Carolina this season, though he has been a bit shaky in his early appearances and will be relied upon further as the year progresses. For now, though, this is Kochetkov's net to lose, and he is showing no signs of letting anyone near it.

What a Vezina Push Could Look Like From Here

Early Vezina Trophy conversations are notoriously unreliable. Goalies who look unbeatable in October have a way of fading by February. But Kochetkov's numbers are not the product of weak scheduling or a handful of easy nights. He has earned every start and there is nothing right now to suggest that will slow down as the season moves forward.

Carolina's structure helps, no question. This is a team built around defensive responsibility and high-volume shot suppression. But even elite systems cannot carry a goalie to a perfect 10-game start. That requires sharp positioning, fast reads, and the ability to hold composure in moments that could unravel a less steady netminder. Kochetkov has shown all of it.

The Hurricanes will now head out on the road for a two-game road swing this week, where the pressure only grows. Road games test goalies differently. The crowd is against you, the bounces sometimes are too, and the margin for error shrinks. If Kochetkov keeps adding wins, the Vezina talk will stop being polite speculation and start becoming a serious case.