Pending UFA goaltender Chris Driedger signed a one-year contract with Russia’s Traktor Chelyabinsk of the Kontinental Hockey League on Tuesday, per a team release.
Driedger, 31, didn’t see NHL ice in 2024-25 for the second time in three seasons. The longtime No. 2/3 netminder was signed by the Panthers last offseason, his second tour of duty with the club, to serve as an insurance option behind backup Spencer Knight. He wasn’t needed due to the young netminder’s emergence, and even though Florida traded Knight to the Blackhawks in the Seth Jones deal, they acquired Vítek Vaněček from the Sharks to be their new backup shortly thereafter and didn’t need Driedger’s services. They then sent him to the Jets for Kaapo Kähkönen in a swap of experienced third-stringers at the trade deadline.
Between Florida’s and Winnipeg’s AHL affiliates, the Charlotte Checkers and Manitoba Moose, Driedger logged a highly underwhelming 3.03 GAA and .877 SV% with an 11-9-4 record in 25 appearances. It was the worst save percentage he’d put up over that large a sample of his entire career, both professional and junior. It’s unsurprising to see the 6’4″ netminder head overseas in search of career and financial stability as a result with an NHL offer far from guaranteed this summer.
For a brief period, Driedger was one of the better backups in the league. During his first stint with the Panthers, he had a 21-8-4 record, .931 SV%, 2.07 GAA, and four shutouts in 35 appearances in the 2019-20 and 2020-21 seasons. While he was set to be an unrestricted free agent the following summer, the Kraken selected his signing rights in their expansion draft and promptly signed him to a three-year, $10.5MM deal. He dealt with frequent injuries in his first year though, and after managing a .899 SV% in 27 games in Seattle’s first season, he had ACL surgery that robbed him of most of the 2022-23 campaign. Upon returning, he was played almost exclusively with the Kraken’s AHL affiliate in Coachella Valley.
The Winnipeg native’s NHL career is now likely behind him. If that’s the case, the 2012 third-rounder wraps it up with 67 games to his name, during which he posted a 31-24-5 record, five shutouts, a 2.45 GAA, .917 SV%, and saved 16.0 goals above average. He also has a .910 SV% in 217 AHL games across 10 seasons.
Driedger will likely form a platoon in Chelyabinsk with 25-year-old Sergei Mylnikov, who posted a .920 SV% in 21 games for Traktor last year. Driedger is the replacement in Chelyabinsk for former NHLer Zachary Fucale, who spent the last two seasons with the club and led the KHL with nine shutouts this year but signed a two-year contract with Belarusian side Dinamo Minsk earlier this month.
Meanwhile, the Jets will look to add a different veteran depth option behind Connor Hellebuyck and Eric Comrie for 2025-26. They have youngsters Thomas Milic and Domenic DiVincentiis under NHL contract next year, but neither has the track record to confidently be penciled in as a No. 3 option/AHL starter.
Good luck Chris, your play with the Kraken was appreciated.
yikes