Taking care of some goaltending depth in the minor leagues, the Utah Hockey Club has announced a two-year, two-way contract for goaltender Matt Villalta. Although financial terms of the deal were not included in the announcement, it is expected Villalta will make close to if not the minimum salary at the NHL level.
Villalta originally broke into the league as a third-round pick of the Los Angeles Kings during the 2017 NHL Draft. Villalta made his professional debut during the 2019-20 AHL season after finishing his junior career for the Sault St. Marie Greyhounds of the Ontario Hockey League. Villalta spent the next four seasons playing for the Kings’ AHL affiliate, the Ontario Reign, where he collected a 58-32-14 record in 108 regular season games while seeing his save percentage climb to .910 in his last year with the organization.
After becoming a free agent last offseason, Villalta signed a one-year, $775K contract with the Arizona Coyotes and was immediately assigned to the team’s AHL affiliate, the Tucson Roadrunners after clearing waivers during training camp. Not only did Villalta provide solid goaltending for the Roadrunners, he was one of the better goalies in the entire AHL having posted a 31-17-3 record in 51 games while carrying a .911 SV% and 2.54 goals against average.
While leading the AHL in wins and earning an AHL All-Star nod, the Coyotes recalled Villalta to the NHL level for the first time in his career on February 16th by way of an emergency loan. Unfortunately, Villalta’s strong performance in the AHL did not translate in Arizona, posting a 0-1-0 record after one start while stopping only 82.8% of shots.
Depending on what Utah ends up doing with Karel Vejmelka and Connor Ingram this summer, Villalta could once again play himself to an opportunity at the NHL level. However, if Utah keeps both goaltenders in the mix heading into the 2024-25 NHL season, Villalta will surely start the year in the AHL.