ANAHEIM, Calif. – Ducks continued to shore up their goaltending depth over the weekend, as they signed Ville Husso to a two-year extension on Sunday.
Husso, who’s deal is valued at $2.2 million per season, is expected to be the No. 3 goaltender behind restricted free agent Lukáš Dostál and newly acquired Petr Mrázek, who came over from Detroit in the trade for John Gibson on Saturday.
The 30-year-old Finnish netminder was acquired from, coincidentally, the Detroit Red Wings in February for future considerations, as Anaheim brought in reinforcements for the San Diego Gulls when the AHL farm team’s goal crease sustained injuries.
The Gulls goaltenders were decimated by injuries during the season, as prospective starter Tomas Suchanek ruptured his ACL in the preseason and next-up starter Calle Clang went out month-to-month with a lower body injury in February.
Journeyman free agent Oscar Dansk took over the starting role in San Diego at time, but the Ducks never seemed confident enough to put him into NHL action, even during extended injury call-ups. Ducks prospects Damian Clara and Vyacheslav Buteyets also saw time in the Gulls net this season.
All of that turmoil made signing a reliable No. 3 goaltender a minor priority for Ducks general manager Pat Verbeek this offseason.
“It’s just a matter now of finding a good third goaltender for us,” Verbeek said yesterday following the Gibson-Mrázek trade. “Ultimately, if we’re able to do that, that will allow, if we have any injuries up top, it’ll allow us to be able to call that third goaltender up to support either goalie. It also allows San Diego to have a good goaltender to carry a lot of the load and allow our younger guys to keep maturing.”
Suchanek, Clang, Clara and Buteyets are all Ducks draft picks that need more seasoning for reliable NHL action, and Anaheim snagged another 18-year-old project goaltender Elijah Neuenschwander in the fourth round of the NHL Draft on Saturday.
Injuries to Gibson in February and March eventually forced Husso into action with the big club, where he posted a 2.99 GAA and .925 save percentage in three starts and four appearances. With San Diego, Husso won seven of nine starts with two shutouts, a 2.56 GAA and .907 save percentage.
Husso did enough in those stints to convince Verbeek, who was familiar with him from their days with the Red Wings, to bring him back as insurance behind Dostál and Mrázek. Husso’s two-year deal also extends just past Mrázek’s deal with one year remaining to have an option as the back-up in 2026-27.
“I would say that that’s a good guess,” Verbeek said yesterday when asked if Husso would be an option for the No. 3 spot. “He’d be a guy that could be very helpful in that role.”
The last bit of goaltending business for Verbeek to tend to this offseason is locking up his now no-doubt No. 1 starter: Lukáš Dostál. As of two weeks ago, Verbeek said he and Dostál’s camps had exchanged contract offers, and while there’s been no movement since, there isn’t much worry about a deal getting done eventually.
Qualifying offers for all restricted free agents are due on Monday, June 30.