ANAHEIM – If he clears waivers at 9 a.m. today, Ray Emery will begin his comeback with the Ducks organization.
The 28-year-old goaltender who opposed the Ducks in the 2007 Stanley Cup Finals agreed to a one-year, two-way contract Monday. the former Ottawa Senators netminder will earn a prorated $500,000 in the NHL and $105,000 in the minors.
Ducks general manager Bob Murray did his homework on a potentially career-threatening hip injury that has kept Emery from playing in more than a year.
“We had to check with the trainer,” Murray said. “We had our doctor make a phone call. We had our goalie coach (Pete Peeters) make a phone call to his goalie coach (Eli Wilson). We did all the things we could do to be sure.
“You can never be sure until he plays games. He’s got to get in games.
He hasn’t played in a long time. We won’t be sure until then.”
If Emery clears waivers he will begin his comeback with the Ducks’ American Hockey League affiliate, the Syracuse Crunch. Goalie prospects Timo Pielmeier and Jean-Phillippe Levasseur haven’t developed as quickly as hoped in Syracuse, and a healthy Emery would give the Ducks a proven third option behind Jonas Hiller and Curtis McElhinney.
Emery must pass through waivers because he is being assigned to the minors. Murray expressed confidence that teams won’t want to use an NHL roster spot on a goalie who hasn’t played in a game since Feb. 1, 2010, when Emery last suited up for the Philadelphia Flyers.
Emery was shut down for the season after being diagnosed with avascular necrosis, a condition in which bone cells die due to a lack of blood supply. Emery had surgery to graft a bone from his lower leg into his hip and has been aggressively rehabilitating in Canada since.
His health concerns aside, Emery also brings baggage from a series of off-ice transgressions that eventually led to his exit from Ottawa. He also has a past with current Ducks center Maxim Lapierre. in a Feb. 10, 2007, game between the Senators and Montreal Canadiens, Emery slashed Lapierre in the face after the two collided in the crease.
Reminded of the incident Monday, Lapierre chuckled briefly. “That was long gone in my mind,” he said. “I don’t know what to say. I don’t know (Emery) at all. I didn’t know he was back in the league.”
Said Murray, “he’s obviously had some problems in the past. but this is also, from all of our background work, I think he’s grown up a whole bunch the last couple years.”
In 29 games with the Flyers last season, Emery went 16-11-1 with a 2.64 goals-against average and .905 save percentage. Emery has appeared in 163 career NHL games with the Senators and Flyers, compiling an 87-51-15 record with a 2.70 GAA and .907 save percentage.
Injury updates
Hiller, who has been bothered by fatigue symptoms, met with a doctor Monday. Head coach Randy Carlyle said he hasn’t decided whether the goalie will accompany the team to Vancouver for Wednesday’s game against the Canucks.
“We feel that he will be on the trip,” Carlyle said, “but I can’t 100 percent commit to that right now.”
Murray said that the team has ruled out the possibility of a concussion – which was a concern after Hiller took a puck off his mask at the NHL All-Star Game. the goalie is still listed as day-to-day, and McElhinney is in line for a second straight start if Hiller can’t go.
Ryan Getzlaf will make the trip and play his first game since sustaining multiple nasal sinus fractures Dec. 28. Even after missing 14 games, Getzlaf will see some power-play time, Carlyle said, and figures to skate on a top line with Corey Perry and Bobby Ryan based the line configurations in practice Monday.
“We’ve never really eased into anything before,” Getzlaf said. “Whatever we need, I’ll be there.”
The captain will wear a visor for the first time as an NHL player.
“The last couple days (the visor) has been really good,” he said. “Today was a good test down low when there’s guys flying around, all that kind of stuff.”
Also …
Perry was named the NHL’s third star of the week ending Sunday by the league. He had five points (three goals, two assists) in two games, including the second hat trick of his career Saturday in Denver. – A brief skirmish erupted in practice when Jason Blake knocked Bobby Ryan off his skates during a 5-on-5 drill. Ryan returned the favor to Blake, defenseman Andy Sutton grabbed Ryan, and teammates intervened to break things up in a matter of seconds.