Ducks sign veteran goalie to one-year deal

The Anaheim Ducks have signed goaltender Alex Stalock to a one-year contract, per a team release. It’s a one-way deal worth $800K, according to The Athletic’s Eric Stephens.

Anaheim is the 36-year-old netminder’s fourth NHL stop (and sixth NHL organization overall) as he enters his potential 12th NHL season. It’s been a long road since he was selected in the fourth round of the 2005 NHL Entry Draft by the San Jose Sharks, where he eventually grew into a full-time backup by the mid-2010s. Serious health issues have limited Stalock’s playing time over the past handful of seasons, including a scary bout with myocarditis that caused him to miss the entire 2020-21 campaign.

It was a tough break for the veteran netminder, who at the time was coming off a career-best 20 wins, 36 starts and four shutouts with the Minnesota Wild as he captured the starting role heading into the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs. After a long road back to full health, Stalock posted solid numbers behind a poor Chicago Blackhawks team last year, recording a team-leading .908 save percentage and 3.10 goals-against average. He also captured both of the team’s two shutouts.

Now, he has a chance to get some NHL looks again in Anaheim. He’s been brought in as insurance, either if projected backup Lukas Dostal isn’t ready for full-time NHL action just yet or to tandem with Dostal if the team trades longtime starter John Gibson. Extending him a one-way deal this late in the offseason makes it clear they don’t envision assigning him to the minors, however.