Only three teams remain in the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs, which means that the rest of the league (and their development affiliates in the AHL) are focused on preparing their rosters for next season. There’s been a lot of movement on the AHL front today, and those transactions will be tracked here.
- The Hartford Wolf Pack announced today that the team’s agreed to terms with forward Cristiano DiGiacinto on a one-year AHL contract. The 1996-born Canadian forward is a former Tampa Bay Lightning prospect, but the team let his exclusive signing rights expire after they selected him in the sixth round in 2014. After a four-year junior career with the OHL’s Windsor Spitfires and a four-year collegiate career in Canada with Acadia University, DiGiacinto turned pro last season with Hartford and notched six goals, seven assists, and 13 points in 47 games. The 26-year-old will look to turn out an increase in numbers next season to potentially earn an NHL contract from Hartford’s parent club, the New York Rangers.
- Forward Riley McKay and defenseman Cliff Watson are returning to the Rockford IceHogs on one-year AHL contracts, while the team also added goalie Mitchell Weeks on a two-year AHL deal. The 23-year-old McKay spent the majority of the 2021-22 season with the ECHL’s Indy Fuel but did earn a callup to four AHL games with Rockford. The 6’0″, 203-pound enforcer tallied up nearly 200 penalty minutes in those ECHL games and will reprise a similar role in the organization. Watson, now a professional veteran, was the captain of the Fuel last season but earned a 20-game AHL callup, notching four assists. The 2001-born Weeks went undrafted after a pair of mediocre seasons with the OHL’s Sudbury Wolves but impressed in a brief professional appearance last season, putting up a .923 save percentage in three playoff games with the ECHL’s Wheeling Nailers. He’ll try and continue that upward trajectory in Rockford.
- Evan Fitzpatrick is staying in the Florida Panthers organization after the team signed him to a one-year AHL contract. Coming from the Charlotte Checkers, Fitzpatrick signed an NHL deal with Florida last season with the team having too few goalies under NHL contract. The former second-round pick of the St. Louis Blues will look to lock down a solid AHL role after being demoted to the ECHL with the crease in Charlotte too crowded in 2021-22.