Alex Stalock inks on as backup for Minnesota

The San Jose Sharks parted ways with backup goaltender Alex Stalock ahead of the 2016 trade deadline, sending him to the Toronto Maple Leafs in a swap for fellow goaltender James Reimer.

Now, Reimer has inked a five year deal with the Florida Panthers – but Stalock, who struggled with the Leafs during his time with the Atlantic Division club, has found a new home as well.

It was announced on Friday afternoon that Stalock has inked a one year deal with the Minnesota Wild, worth $650,000 at the NHL level and $300,000 at the AHL level.

Given the two-way nature of the deal, it’s reasonable to expect that Stalock won’t immediately take the backup job from Darcy Kuemper. It’s entirely possible that instead, he’ll spend the year in the AHL with the Iowa Wild, coming up to serve as backup when needed behind Kuemper and Dubnyk.

For the Wild, though, this replenishes some goaltending depth that the team has slowly been losing over the last few years. Now that veteran starter Niklas Backstrom is gone for good (he signed overseas this summer after being dealt to the Calgary Flames at the trade deadline), the team can use Stalock to serve as an emergency option in the system with NHL experience without overpaying for that depth.

Drafted 112th overall by the Sharks in 2005, Stalock – a native of St. Paul, Minnesota – put up a .884 at the NHL level with San Jose last season over 13 games. He played exclusively for the AHL’s Toronto Marlies upon being dealt to Toronto, but was sent home early ahead of the postseason.

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