It’s safe to say that there is now a bit of a goalie logjam in Montreal.
Late Tuesday afternoon, the Habs announced the signing of veteran goalie Joey
MacDonald to a one year, two-way contract. Financial terms of the deal
were not disclosed. The 34 year old netminder will be pushing to be the
starting goaltender with the Hamilton Bulldogs.
Last year, MacDonald split the season between Calgary and their AHL affiliate
in Abbotsford. With the Flames, he posted a 5-4-1 record with a 2.90 GAA
and a .890 SV% in 11 games. With the Heat, where he spent most of the
season as the backup with the Flames playing youngsters ahead of him, he was
5-10 with an even 3.00 GAA and a .909 SV%.
In his career, MacDonald has played 133 NHL games, recording a 44-61-15
record with a 3.00 GAA and a .902 SV% to go along with a pair of shutouts.
In the AHL, he has appeared in 300 contests with a 144-125-11 record with a 2.62
GAA and a .913 SV% with 24 shutouts.
With a veteran in the fold for the minors, it appears likely that the Habs
won’t try to send one of Dustin Tokarski or Peter Budaj through waivers next
season. Unless they plan to carry three goalies next season, it also
appears as if one of those two may be dealt sometime between now and training
camp.
Montreal now has 45 players signed for next season plus two RFA’s in Lars
Eller and P.K. Subban. However, four of their signed players (McCarron, de
la Rose, Fucale, and Gregoire) will slide next season unless they play nine NHL
games so there is still room to add some UFA’s in terms of the 50 contract
limit.
MacDonald’s Stats
