About Last Season: Petr Mrazek Performance Review and Grade

Petr Mrazek 2019-20 By the Numbers

• Age: 28
• NHL Seasons: 8
• Games Played: 40
• Stats: 21-16-2, 2.69 GAA, .905 save percentage, three shutouts
• Contract Status: One year left on two-year contract with $3.125 million AAV

After a wonderfully surprising first year in Carolina in 2018-19, Petr Mrazek inked a new deal with the Canes to bring the Czech netminder back as the starting goalie for two more years last summer.

With his new deal in hand, Mrazek came into 2019-20 as the Canes’ undisputed starter, bringing confidence and swagger into the role following one of the strongest years of his career in which he helped lead the Hurricanes to a long-awaited playoff appearance.

Mrazek’s numbers dropped a bit in 2019-20 from his fantastic 2018-19, but he was still a formidable force in Carolina’s net. His 2.69 GAA was in the top half of NHL goalies, while his 21 wins put him 14th in the league. Mrazek’s GAA and save percentage were both significantly down from 2018-19, but he was on pace to win more games when the season got shut down.

He started the year out on fire, winning his first four games of the season including his first shutout of the year in an early win in Los Angeles over the Kings. He was particularly good at home in the first months of the season, winning his first six starts in PNC Arena. He didn’t allow more than three goals in any of those wins.

The winning for Mrazek started out in the Canes’ opener, as he shut down the Canadiens in a shootout to secure two points for Carolina out of the gate.

Mrazek’s stellar start lasted through the end of the 2019 calendar year. Following back-to-back wins to end 2019, including a 3-1 win over Montreal on New Year’s Eve, Mrazek was 16-8-2. He lost back-to-back games just three times in the 2019 portion of the schedule, and he never lost more than two in a row.

The turn of the calendar meant a slight turn in Mrazek’s game. He was 5-8-0 in the 2020 portion of the season, losing seven of his first nine starts in the new decade. Mrazek went on a three-game losing skid immediately out of the All-Star break in late January, the only three-game skid of his season.

In those three losses, to Vegas, St. Louis and Dallas, Mrazek gave up four, six and three goals. Mrazek did have a bounce back after that, winning games over New Jersey and Nashville and giving up two goals or less in both of them. The New Jersey win came on Mrazek’s 28th birthday.

Mrazek suffered a concussion in the Hurricanes’ Feb. 22 win over Toronto, the famous David Ayres game. He sat out a few weeks with the injury, making his return to the ice just before the COVID-19 shut down. In Mrazek’s first game back from injury and the Canes’ final game of the regular season, the Canes won 5-2 in Detroit.

Mrazek’s regular season wasn’t perfect, but it also wasn’t too shabby. He won the majority of his starts, keeping the Canes in pretty much every game he was in net. James Reimer was fantastic in the backup role and should compete with Mrazek for playoff starts, a good thing for the Hurricanes.