The Anaheim Ducks signed goaltender Anthony Stolarz to a two-year contract extension yesterday, with an AAV of $950,000, according to CapFriendly.com.
Stolarz is still signed for the upcoming season and this deal with instead exist for the 2021-22 and 2022-23 seasons. The 26-year-old netminder is coming off a strong season with the AHL’s San Diego Gulls, where he posted a .922 save percentage in 39 games, and he also has 26 career games of NHL experience.
Anaheim #Ducks have signed goalie Anthony Stolarz to a 2 year contract extension worth $1,900,000.
2021-22: $950,000 2022-23: $950,000
Signing Stolarz gives Anaheim a second goalie that meets the minimum exposure requirements for Expansion, and allowing them to protect Gibson. pic.twitter.com/sjX8CtNfNu
This deal certainly points to the fact that this will be Ryan Miller’s last season with the Ducks and Stolarz will take over as backup after that. The deal is a higher AAV than it would be if Anaheim didn’t have plans to use him in the NHL and the two-year term, along with the fact it’s a one-way contract, seems telling as well. It also covers Ducks for the expansion draft, so they’ll meet exposure requirements.
The deal itself is solid but the biggest question for me is whether the two-year term was necessary, with Lukas Dostal emerging as a top prospect for the Ducks. Between Miller and Stolarz, the Ducks essentially have three years of term for backup goalies and it remains to be seen as to whether Dostal is really that far out from competing for a spot in the NHL.
That said, this is an easy contract to bury in the minors and it’ll provide depth for the Ducks in net after Miller likely retires in the offseason. Stolarz can become a solid backup goalie for the Ducks, behind John Gibson.
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