The Sharks have re-signed pending RFA goaltender Gabriel Carriere to a two-way deal for next season, PuckPedia reported Thursday. It carries a $795K cap hit, including a $20K signing bonus and $775K NHL salary. He’ll earn an $85K salary while in the minors with a total salary guarantee of $100K.
Carriere, 24, signed his first NHL contract with the Sharks a few months ago. The undrafted free agent out of the University of Vermont was in his first professional season on a minor-league deal with AHL San Jose. However, the Sharks needed to get another goalie under contract before the trade deadline, with top prospect Yaroslav Askarov injured and backup Vítek Vaněček traded to the Panthers. That temporarily left them with only two healthy goalies, Alexandar Georgiev and Georgi Romanov, under NHL contract, so they signed Carriere in case one of them sustained an injury.
The Ottawa native had an impressive showing in the minors after toiling behind a weak Vermont team as the starter for most of his time in college. He made 47 appearances, split almost evenly between the AHL and ECHL. He was imposing in the latter league with the Wichita Thunder, posting a 2.60 GAA and a .922 SV% in 25 games – good for three shutouts and a 14-9-2 record. Carriere’s numbers understandably dipped during his AHL call-ups, though. He was easily the worst of the Barracuda’s three regular netminders (himself, Askarov, and Romanov), logging a .894 SV%, 3.06 GAA, and a 10-9-3 record in 22 games.
Nonetheless, his ECHL showing out of the gate was worth another look. The Sharks also haven’t made any other moves to address their lack of goaltending depth, although they should be expected to do so on July 1. For now, at least, Carriere becomes just the second goalie in the organization signed for next season alongside Askarov, who’s beginning a two-year, $4MM extension as he makes the jump to full-time NHL minutes.
Why would the Sharks “need” to get another goalie under contract before the deadline? Is there a rule stating that a team must have a certain amount of players at each position before July 1 I am not aware of? Maybe they’d like to, but “need” to?
No, nor does the article imply as such. The “need” was referring to his initial contract signed in-season at the trade deadline when they only had two other healthy netminders under NHL contract.
Carriere is San Jose’s Yutaka Fukufuji – the first Japanese player in the NHL, who really only got a shot because the Kings had like 5 goalies ahead of him on the depth chart and they were all hurt.