Frederik Andersen Opens Up About Playing for the Maple Leafs

Frederik Andersen spent five seasons with the Toronto Maple Leafs and now has moved on to the Carolina Hurricanes. The Danish netminder opened up recently about his final season in Toronto and how he couldn't produce playing through injuries.

Andersen who posted a 2,96 GAA and a .895 save % in 2020-21 had this to say about what went on last season:

I'm obviously not happy with what we accomplished in the playoffs. Everyone knows that we wanted more out of that, especially this year. We had a really good team. (Goaltenders) always get probably more of the credit than we deserve, same goes with the blame. That's just something that comes with the territory. I never really felt that it was too unfair, I had pretty high expectations for myself ... I think, in general, fans appreciated me. I definitely appreciated the time in Toronto as well. The way I dealt with things, playing through pain like that and injury, it wasn't the best idea long term, looking back. I definitely don't think I was making the right move in trying to keep playing.

Over those five years, I felt like I left it all out there for Toronto, and it just doesn't always go the way you're imagining it. That’s how sports are. Toronto never really became that serious to offering anything. I was just really grateful and happy that I was able to go to a good team like Carolina. A breath of fresh air would be good, so that's really what I look forward to instead of looking too far backward

Expect a monster season out of Andersen in Carolina after signing a three-year deal worth $4.5 million per season. The Hurricanes are going to be a very strong team in the Eastern Conference who could be pushed over the top with solid goaltending out of Andersen and his new running mate Antti Raanta.