Minnesota Wild: Stalock Adds Strong Depth to Goaltending

Former UMD standout goaltender Alex Stalock signed a two-way deal with the Minnesota Wild Friday to add much-needed depth and stability to the goaltending roster. His signing is key to allowing the development of the Wild’s young goaltenders and he will help in Iowa’s quest to climb out of the AHL cellar.

The goaltending depth of the Minnesota Wild added a very big piece on Friday with the signing of Alex Stalock to a one-year two-way contract. The South St. Paul native and former UMD standout was excited to hear the news that he would be a part of the home town Wild. He’s a NHL tested talent who will add more solid depth to the Wild goaltending corps that is a little thin after the top two netminders Devan Dubnyk and Darcy Kuemper.

Stalock has been a career backup in 5 total NHL seasons all with the Sharks. He saw his best season in his first full season of NHL duty in 2013-14 when he posted a 12-5-2 record with a 1.87 GAA and a .932 save percentage. His excellent season would be overshadowed by a rough playoff exit against the Kings. Stalock was asked to try to stop the Kings’ comeback from a 3-0 defect and got the starting nod in Game 6. The Kings would win that contest 4-1 and go on to win the series, eliminating the Sharks.

Stalock fell on hard times after that season, and he would see his decline hit its low point last season in his 13 appearances where he posted career lows with a record of 3-5-2, a 2.94 GAA, and a dismal .884 save percentage. That low production would make him expendable as the Sharks would deal Stalock, Ben Smith, and a 2018 fourth round conditional pick to the Maple Leafs for James Reimer and Jeremy Morin. As soon as Stalock arrived to Toronto he was put on waivers and assigned to AHL Marlies where he would finish the season.

“To have (Devan) Dubnyk, (Darcy) Kuemper and Stalock, that’s the best depth we’ve had since I’ve been here.” -Wild GM Chuck Fletcher, via The Pioneer Press

What Stalock brings to the Wild is depth and a good starter in Iowa. The probability of him starting the season in Minnesota is slim to non-existent if Kuemper is still with the team. With him being on a two-way contract the door is open for him to be up in Minnesota if an injury were to occur. That was something that Wild needed to get straight this season, because last season’s three goaltender situation with Niklas Backstrom did not require a two-way NHL ready goaltender to be in Iowa. Chuck Fletcher explains the depth addition of Stalock best when he told the Pioneer Press’s Chad Graff “To have (Devan) Dubnyk, (Darcy) Kuemper and Stalock, that’s the best depth we’ve had since I’ve been here.”