Former Leafs goalie looking to revive his NHL career

The Carolina Hurricanes are in the middle of sorting out their goaltending situation after they placed Antti Raanta on waivers over the weekend and used a tandem of Pytor Kochetkov and Yaniv Perets. Earlier this season, they also announced that former Toronto Maple Leaf Frederik Andersen would be away from the team as he dealt with a career-threatening blood clot issue.

Andersen was cleared by doctors over the weekend to resume practicing, but there is still no timetable for his return. In the meantime, the Hurricanes have already brought in Jaroslav Halak on a PTO, but released him and have now signed another former Leafs goaltender to a PTO in Aaron Dell

Dell signed a PTO with the Hurricanes this morning and had been skating in San Jose with a few members of the San Jose Sharks, along with another former Maple Leaf and Shark in Joe Thornton. Dell was signed in the summer of 2020 by the Leafs to a 1-year deal, but did not play a game for the Leafs. He was placed on waivers in January of 2021 and claimed by the New Jersey Devils.

The 34-year-old has spent the majority of his professional career in the AHL. In 130 NHL games between the San Jose Sharks, New Jersey Devils and Buffalo Sabres, Dell has compiled a 50-50-13 record with a 2.92 GAA and .905 save percentage.


Dell has played just 23 games in the NHL over the last 3 seasons combined. He's hoping that a strong performance during his PTO will help him to revive his NHL career.