March 17: Cormier has been returned to the minors after backing up Sergei Bobrovsky in yesterday’s 5-3 loss to the Lightning, per CapFriendly. The move suggests Stolarz will be healthy enough to at least back up Bobrovsky for the Panthers’ next game, which isn’t until Thursday against the Predators.
March 16: Signed to an NHL deal earlier this month, goaltender Evan Cormier will now get at least a brief look with Florida. The team announced (Twitter link) that the netminder has been recalled from ECHL Florida to serve as the backup goaltender tonight with Anthony Stolarz unavailable due to illness.
The 26-year-old had been playing on a minor league deal but for the second straight season, that contract was converted to an NHL one just before the trade deadline, allowing him to be recalled for a situation just like this one. Cormier has played in 19 ECHL games with the Everblades this season, posting a 2.88 GAA and a .906 SV%. He also has six AHL appearances with Charlotte but has struggled, putting up a 3.64 GAA with a .868 SV%.
He’ll be covering for Stolarz who has been a bright spot for Florida’s goaltending this season. Signed to a low-cost one-year deal in the summer, the 30-year-old has thrived, compiling a 2.02 GAA and a .925 SV% through 21 games so far. A pending unrestricted free agent, Stolarz is certainly well-positioned to earn a sizable raise on his $1.1MM price tag.
While Florida has Spencer Knight in the minors as well, they can’t afford to call him up. They’re using one of their cap-exempt emergency goalie recalls to add Cormier to the roster but cap-exempt recalls have limitations on who is eligible based on their salary. At $4.5MM, Knight is well above that threshold, taking him out of the mix this time around.