Frederik Andersen said there is no target date yet for his return from a blood clotting issue that has prevented him playing since Nov. 2, but the Carolina Hurricanes goalie continues to make progress.
“I've got to start by saying I appreciate the patience through this last little time,” Andersen told reporters after practicing with the Hurricanes at PNC Arena in Raleigh, North Carolina, on Wednesday. “It's obviously been scary times, but thankfully I've gotten a lot of help through the team, the doctors around me, and my family. My teammates have been really supportive, and I really appreciate the help.
“So, I can’t really put an exact date on the timetable [to play]; I'm just taking things day by day to see how I'm progressing. I'm going to lean on the great team of doctors that we have around here.”
Andersen has been practicing with the Hurricanes since last Thursday after working 1-on-1 with goaltending coach Paul Schonfelder for the previous two weeks. The 34-year-old was cleared to resume on-ice activities during Carolina’s break for 2024 All-Star Weekend (Feb. 1-3).
“I can’t tell you enough how excited I am, how good it feels to be back with the teammates and doing what I love,” Andersen said. “To be part of that locker room again and being out there for practice has been really fun.”
Getting Andersen back before the Stanley Cup Playoffs would be a big boost for Carolina (33-17-5), which is second in the Metropolitan Division, six points behind the New York Rangers, heading into its game against the Atlantic Division-leading Florida Panthers at PNC Arena on Thursday (7 p.m. ET; BSSO, BSFL). Andersen is 4-1-0 with a 2.87 goals-against average and .894 save percentage in six games (all starts) this season. He was 5-3 with a 1.83 GAA and .927 save percentage in nine games (all starts) in the playoffs last season to help the Hurricanes reach the Eastern Conference Final before losing to the Panthers in four games.
Although Andersen was told he would make a full recovery when he was diagnosed, it was unclear initially whether he would be able to play again this season.
“It was a scary time,” he said. “Just really happy to be in really good hands, and that was a big relief to have that around me.”
To ease his mind, Andersen tried to learn as much about his condition as possible and repeatedly thanked the doctors for their counseling through the uncertainty.
“I obviously haven’t dealt with this before,” he said, “and I tried to just get educated as much as I can to really understand what situation I’m in and then really lean on the great team of doctors I’ve seen and have kind of taken their advice and their recommendations and making the decisions with them.”
Andersen will continue to follow the doctors’ advice as he moves closer to being ready to play.
“I think the medical world is a really big world when you don’t have the knowledge that doctors have, and [I’m] just thankful that I’ve had those doctors around to help me out, he said. “That’s been really eye opening to a lot of things that are not just straightforward when you think of one thing. There’s usually many different factors that can play into certain conditions and stuff like that. So, just really thankful for the team of doctors that I’ve seen.”
