Blackhawks agree to terms with Emery, assign Salak

From chicagoblackhawks.com: (link)

The Chicago Blackhawks have agreed to terms with goaltender Ray Emery on a one-year contract and assigned goaltender Alexander Salak to the American Hockey League’s Rockford IceHogs.

The Blackhawks’ training camp roster now stands at 26 active players, which includes 16 forwards, 8 defensemen, and two goaltenders. An updated training camp roster is attached.

“We’re in the fortunate position to have to make a difficult decision on two netminders that impressed throughout our entire training camp,” said Vice President/General Manager Stan Bowman. “Having both Ray Emery and Alexander Salak as a part of the Chicago Blackhawks organization makes us stronger in both the short-term and long-term.”

Emery, 29, is a veteran of 173 career regular-season games over parts of seven NHL seasons with the Ottawa Senators (2002-08), Philadelphia Flyers (2009-10) and Anaheim Ducks (2010-11). The Cayuga, Ontario, native has also posted 20 wins in 36 career appearances in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, which includes backstopping the Senators to the 2007 Stanley Cup Final. Originally selected by Ottawa in the fourth round (99th overall) of the 2001 National Hockey League Entry Draft, Emery compiled a 7-2-0 record, 2.28 GAA and .926 save percentage in 10 regular-season tilts with Anaheim last season and appeared in six postseason contests with the Ducks.

Salak, 24, helped lead Farjestad BK to the 2011 Swedish Elitserien championship, ranking second along league netminders with a 1.97 GAA and .926 save percentage in 33 regular-season contests. The goaltender was acquired by Chicago, along with forward Michael Frolik, in a trade with the Florida Panthers on February 9. The Strakonice, Czech Republic, native made his North American debut during the 2009-10 season, being honored as an American Hockey League All-Star in the midst of compiling a 29-14-0 record and a .910 save percentage over 50 games with the AHL’s Rochester Americans.

Chicago opens the 2011-12 regular-season on the road against the Dallas Stars on Friday, Oct. 7 at 7:30 p.m. CT. The game will be broadcast locally on Comcast SportsNet Chicago and can be heard on WGN Radio AM-720.