panoo

Wed, July 11, 2007
Veteran goalie leaves with fond memories of Moose
By KEN WIEBE, SUN MEDIA

Wade Flaherty turned the page and found a new hockey home.

Flaherty, who spent the past three seasons with the Manitoba Moose and was an unrestricted free agent, has signed a one-year deal with the Chicago Blackhawks.

While Flaherty, 39, will battle Patrick Lalime for the backup job behind Nikolai Khabibulin, he is likely to be sharing the crease with top prospect Corey Crawford, who played 60 AHL games last season, on the Rockford IceHogs, the Blackhawks new American Hockey League affiliate.

Flaherty had expressed his interest to return to the Manitoba Moose as part of the Vancouver Canucks organization but saw the writing on the wall when 2004 first round pick Cory Schneider decided to turn pro.

Though there were several options he considered, Flaherty ultimately decided the Chicago situation was the best one for him.

"There was other interest but it never got to drawing out numbers, I just jumped at this (opportunity)," Flaherty said yesterday from his home in Vancouver. "They tell me I'll be the No. 3 and be a call-up in case of injury. They wanted me as a veteran guy to work with their young kid Crawford. He's their goalie of the future. I'm excited about it."

A year ago, Flaherty re-signed with the Canucks prior to July 1 rather than test the free agent market. This year, that option wasn't available to him, so he dealt with some uncertainty.

"Was it fun? There were a lot of thoughts that went through my mind, about whether I was going to pack it in and retire or continue on," said Flaherty, who battled two significant knee injuries last season. "When this came up, it just seemed like a good fit."

The relationship with the parent Canucks was strained at times, but Flaherty loved his time in Manitoba, especially the lockout season of 2004-05.

"Believe it or not, Manitoba is probably the place I've played the longest in," said Flaherty, who is preparing for his 19th professional season. "That first year, there was that atmosphere around the team and the building was awesome and it was my first time playing in Canada, which was a treat. There was a buzz around the city. And obviously, the way (the Moose organization) treat the players is something special too."

Flaherty, who was 17-9-2 last season with two shutouts and a 2.42 GAA in 32 games, will recognize at least one familiar face as Prestin Ryan has agreed to a two-way contract with the Blackhawks.

Ryan had five goals and 21 points in 58 games for the Moose last season.

The Moose also lost centre Nathan Smith, who signed a one-year, two-way deal with the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Smith is expected to battle for a spot as a defensive centre on a team that already has Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Eric Staal on the depth chart.

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