The Blues have acquired a solid backup goaltender. Ty Conklin becomes yet another former Red Wing backup goalie to join St. Louis. Following in the footsteps (though hopefully not too closely) of Manny Legace and Chris Osgood of the recent past, Conklin with be with the Blues for two seasons at a cost of $1.3 million per year.
Conklin, 33, played with Detroit last season after playing with Pittsburgh the season before, meaning he has played for back-to-back Cup finalists as well as being a participant in three Winter Classic games (with Detroit, Pittsburgh and Edmonton back in 2003).
On top of thiose resume items, Conklin has played in 149 NHL games over six seasons with a career 2.58 goals-against average and a 90.9% save percentage. His career record is a surprisingly good 73-43-10 with 10 shutouts. He has appeared in only ywo playoff games.
Conklin is the backup, which is exactly what the Blues wanted to get. He knows his position, makes less money than starter Chris Mason and is quite comfortable in the second slot. Unlike the situation last year, there is no confusion in the Blues' net heading into the regular season.
EDIT BY BRAD: I might as well toot my own horn. Our free agency primer post from earlier this week:
Potential targets: Ty Conklin was good enough to play backup to Chris Osgood. I'd think he's good enough to play backup for Mason.
Your Pick 3 lotto numbers for today: 5, 1 and 9. And you're welcome.