When the Habs acquired Ben Scrivens last week, the writing seemed to be on the wall for Dustin Tokarski in that his future was going to be elsewhere. That was made official on Thursday as he was sent to Anaheim for winger Max Friberg.
Friberg, 23, was a 5th round pick of the Anaheim Ducks back in 2011, 143rd overall. He has spent the majority of his season with the San Diego Gulls of the AHL, picking up five goals and twelve assists in 25 games. He also has suited up for five games with Anaheim, going pointless while averaging 8:50 of ice time per game.
The 5’11 forward can play both wings and like recent acquisition Lucas Lessio, is a very good skater. He was one of the more intriguing names put on waivers towards the end of training camp but with other teams dealing with their own roster crunches, he was able to sneak through.
Tokarski had some up and down moments with the Canadiens in the last couple of years. He made an impression in the 2014 playoffs where he took over the #1 job when Carey Price was injured and he held his own in a series loss to the Rangers. That earned him the full-time #2 spot last year and forced the team to deal Peter Budaj to Winnipeg.
2015-16 hasn’t been as good of a year though. He lost his spot to rookie Mike Condon and has been up and down in terms of his play with St. John’s of the AHL. With Price injured once again, Tokarski got another chance but again was inconsistent, eventually forcing the team to go out and add another goalie in Scrivens. With the Habs this year, he was 1-3-0 in six appearances, posting a 3.19 GAA and a .878 SV%. With the IceCaps, he had a 3-3-4 record with a 2.84 GAA and a .909 SV%.
Tokarski is in the final year of a two-year deal that sees him earn $575,000 (a one-way salary) with a cap hit ($562,500) that’s actually below the league minimum ($575,000). Friberg, meanwhile, is in the first season of a two year pact. He makes $75,000 in the AHL and a league minimum NHL salary in 2015-16 while next year, he jumps to a $90,000 salary on the farm and a $600,000 salary with the big club.
Both players have been assigned to their respective AHL teams. St. John’s has also recalled Eddie Pasquale from Brampton of the ECHL who will most likely serve as the backup to Zach Fucale on Thursday night when the IceCaps host Portland.
Friberg’s Stats:
Tokarski’s Stats: