3/5: The Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli reports that Dell has successfully cleared waivers, meaning that Los Angeles can assign the goaltender to their AHL affiliate, the Ontario Reign.
3/4: The Kings placed veteran goaltender Aaron Dell on waivers Monday, per Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet. He was not signed to an NHL contract, so the news means the Kings have signed him to what’s likely a one-year, two-way contract to ride out the season. Friedman later confirmed it was a two-way deal.
Dell, 34, attended training camp with the Blue Jackets on a professional tryout contract but was not signed. After sitting unsigned for the first few months of the season, Dell signed another unsuccessful PTO with the Hurricanes, during which he represented Canada at the Spengler Cup with a .906 SV% and 2.59 GAA in four games.
Finally, Dell found somewhere to get professional playing time in January, signing a tryout with the AHL’s Ontario Reign, the Kings’ primary affiliate. He’s logged five appearances there over the past few weeks, posting a .906 SV% and 2.63 GAA with a 2-3-0 record. He logged his first shutout of the season on Friday, making 24 stops in a 3-0 win over the San Diego Gulls.
With Pheonix Copley done for the season after injuring his ACL in December, Dell sits fourth on the Kings’ goaltending depth chart behind Cam Talbot, David Rittich, and top prospect Erik Portillo. The Kings acquired the signing rights to the former University of Michigan standout in a trade with the Sabres last March, and he’s responded with a sparkling .923 SV%, 2.38 GAA, two shutouts, and a 16-8-3 record in 28 games for the Reign.
Dell provides L.A. with a more veteran option in case of an injury to either Rittich or Talbot if they so choose. An undrafted free agent signing by the Sharks out of the ECHL in 2015, Dell has worked his way up the ranks to make 106 starts and 24 relief appearances over a seven-year career with San Jose, the Devils, and the Sabres. He has a 50-50-13 record with five shutouts, a 2.92 GAA, and .905 SV%.
A sign and waive deal. That’s a new one, lol!
Not really. Because he is signed to a professional NHL contract and not put on the Kings roster, they must waive him to reassign him back to the AHL.
If you have four goalies you have none.
Every team has four goalies. Either on the NHL roster or a phone call away in their minor league system.
It sounds like LA is trying to acquire Ullmark which makes sense but It sounds like Edmonton is to, Interesting.