After 11 seasons and six different organizations, goaltender Alex Stalock announced his retirement from the National Hockey League after 179 regular season games played.
Thursday marked a significant shift in Stalock’s career. The San Jose Sharks revealed that he would be stepping into a new role, joining the likes of Scott Hannan, Jamal Mayers, Jason Demers, and Dan Rusanowsky as a colour commentator for the Sharks Audio Network in the upcoming 2024-25 season.
The former Sharks netminder will share commentating duties with former NHLers Hannan, Mayers, and Demers, with Drew Remenda as the primary colour analyst. They will all work alongside Rusanowsky.
Despite being a seasoned netminder, Alex Stalock’s NHL career was largely defined by his role as a backup to the starting goaltenders on his teams.
Stalock’s journey to the NHL began when the Sharks drafted him as the 112th overall pick in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft. After three years at the University of Minnesota-Duluth, he joined the Sharks’ former AHL affiliate, the Worcester Sharks, for the 2009-10 season, where he boasted a 39-17-4 record and a .908 save percentage.
His time finally came to play in the big leagues for the Sharks, making one appearance during the 2010-11 season as a relief to Antti Niemi. Finally, during the 2013-14 season, Stalock earned himself a full-time backup position behind Niemi for San Jose. He played 24 games with a 12-5-2 record and a .932 save percentage.
After five seasons and 63 appearances with the Sharks, Stalock was traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs, where he rode out the last months of the 2015-16 season without seeing any ice time.
Stalock signed as a free agent with the Minnesota Wild on the opening day of free agency in 2016, where he and starting netminder Devyn Dubnyk created a solid goaltending tandem. When Dubnyk’s performance started to slip in 2019-20, Stalock stepped up to the challenge and helped the Wild secure a tight spot in the Stanley Cup Playoffs qualifying round.
However, when 2020-21 rolled around, Stalock faced a new challenge. He was diagnosed with Myocarditis, a complication from COVID-19, which sidelined him from any action during the season. Eventually, the Edmonton Oilers claimed the goaltender off waivers from the Wild, sending him down to their AHL affiliate, the Bakersfield Condors, where he appeared in five games during the 2021-22 season. Just before the trade deadline, Stalock found his way back to where it all started with the Sharks due to a trade for future considerations for the Oilers.
In 2022-23, Stalock again tested the waters of free agency and signed with the Chicago Blackhawks, making 27 appearances behind Petr Mrazek.
In his final season, Stalock spent his time in the AHL with the San Diego Gulls, the Anaheim Ducks AHL affiliate, after signing a one-year contract with the team in August 2023. Stalock posted a record of 2-9-2 with a .88 save percentage throughout 15 games.
Stalock’s older style of play, characterized by his unique approach to the game and his recognition as a playmaker with the puck, set him apart from other NHL goaltenders. Although the Sharks have yet to announce which games Stalock will be on the broadcast, his perspective and insights will undoubtedly provide a fresh and intriguing view of the game from the former NHLer.

Flyers announce several new hires, including Wayne Simmonds

The Philadelphia Flyers are gearing up for the upcoming 2024-25 campaign with seven new hires within their hockey operations, including former Flyer Wayne Simmonds. 
On Friday, the club announced Reid Simpson as director of professional scouting (Europe), Kedryn Orrison-Pilgrim as the head athletic trainer for their AHL affiliate, the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, Lindsay Eastwood as manager for player and hockey communications, Ryan Cyr as a goaltending scout and development consultant, Oleg Znarok as European player development and scouting consultant, Ellyse Robert as hockey analyst, but most notably Simmonds as the new community relations ambassador and hockey operations consultant. 
The Flyers originally acquired Simmonds in 2011 after three seasons with the Los Angeles Kings, who drafted him as the 61st pick in the 2005 NHL Draft. 
Simmonds remained with the Flyers for eight seasons, posting 203 goals and 378 points throughout 584 games. He was traded to the Nashville Predators for the remainder of the 2018-19 season. After stints with the New Jersey Devils and Buffalo Sabres for the 2019-2020 season, Simmonds landed a spot with the Toronto Maple Leafs for the last three seasons of his career. He finished his career with a total of 263 goals and 526 points throughout 1037 NHL games. 
However, the most significant news was Simmonds’ return to the Flyers, not as a player, but in a new role. Despite officially finishing his career with the Maple Leafs in 2022-23, Simmonds signed a one-day contract with the Flyers almost a month after announcing his retirement from hockey to be honoured by the Flyers ahead of their 1-0 win against the Devils on April 12th, 2024. 
Simmonds expressed his deep respect and admiration for the Flyers, saying, “I started my journey as a young kid from Scarborough [Ontario] and finished playing for the [Toronto] Maple Leafs. But in between there, I wore the orange and black, and I had the greatest eight years of my life in this city. And there’s no other way I’d want to go out other than to be remembered as a Flyer. So, for me, this is extremely special, and for my family this is extremely special.”
During his time with the Flyers, Simmonds became a community activist, a role that aligns perfectly with his new position. His impact was significant, as he started his community work with “Wayne’s Warriors,” an in-game initiative that saw him purchase a season suite and donate every game to local military members. He then began hosting a program called “Wayne’s Road Hockey Warriors” to give underprivileged children a chance to learn the game. 

Flames sign Jakob Pelletier to one-year contract

On Thursday, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported that the Calgary Flames signed forward Jakob Pelletier to a one-year, two-way contract worth $800,000.
With the completion of the 2023-24 season, Pelletier officially retired from his entry-level contract with the Flames, which had an average annual value of $863,333.
The 23-year-old split last season between the Flames and their American Hockey League affiliate, the Calgary Wranglers.  The forward recorded one goal and three points in 13 NHL contests with the Flames and an additional five goals and 12 points throughout 12 AHL games with the Wranglers.
Unfortunately, Pelletier was injured during a pre-season game against the Seattle Kraken. The forward underwent successful shoulder surgery and missed the first three months of last season to recover.
Regrettably, Pelletier’s season was significantly affected by his injury. He returned to the ice, only to be sidelined again after a brutal hit from New York Rangers forward Jacob Trouba on February 12th.
Pelletier, the Flames’ 26th overall selection in the 2019 NHL Draft, made a strong start to his career. After a season with the Stockton Heat, he joined the Flames and Wranglers for the 2022-23 season. In his rookie year, he scored three goals and seven points for the Flames, and an impressive 16 goals and 37 points in 35 games with the Wranglers.

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