RALEIGH, NC. - Monday's Carolina Hurricanes practice was two goalies lighter than usual, with Antti Raanta and Equipment Manager Jorge Alves being the only two defending nets for the skate.
Pyotr Kochetkov was given an extra day off the ice with the team not back in game action until Wednesday, but Jaroslav Halak's locker was cleaned out and his tenure with the team has come to a close, Rod Brind'Amour told reporters.
"[The decision to end the agreement] was more on his side. It was a mutual kind of thing," the head coach said in an understanding way following practice. "That's a tough spot to be for him. I think he realized that it's tough at the end of the road to make those decisions when you've got a family and everything."
A 17-season NHL veteran, Halak came to Raleigh on a free agent tryout two weeks ago following the unfortunate news of a blood clotting issue sidelining Frederik Andersen.
The 38-year-old served as the team's third goalie at practices and during morning skates during his stint, providing the team with a third league-ready goaltender should something have happened to Kochetkov or Raanta.
Brind'Amour was asked if he felt that the team needed another third goaltender with Andersen out indefinitely, but the head coach gave a vote of support to rookie Yaniv Perets, who was signed as a free agent after winning an NCAA National Championship with Quinnipiac University this spring.
"We have three goalies in the organization at the moment, so until it becomes an issue, it's not an issue," Brind'Amour continued. "And yeah, I would be comfortable [with Perets], no problem."
Perets, 23, has played eight games this season with the Norfolk Admirals of the ECHL.
