Shell
06-02-2003, 08:31 AM
Blue Jackets ink Brathwaite to deal
Canadian Press
6/1/2003
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - Veteran goaltender Fred Brathwaite has signed a one-year deal to be Marc Denis' backup with the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Brathwaite, 30, played last year with St. Louis.
"I'm very excited," he said in an interview with The Columbus Dispatch.
"I've got a chance to go to a young team and hopefully make a difference. In St. Louis, I didn't play too much.
"Hopefully I can contribute a little more in Columbus, push Marc Denis and help them become a better team."
The contract was believed to have a base value of $500,000 US with several performance bonus clauses.
Brathwaite, from Ottawa, was 12-9-4 with a 2.76 goals-against average and a .883 save percentage.
Denis appeared in 77 of 82 games and set an NHL record by playing 4,511 minutes.
Brathwaite estimated he would be called on to play 20 or 30 games to relieve Denis.
Blue Jackets president and general manager Doug MacLean said it was important to grab a quality goaltender because the retirement of Colorado's Patrick Roy last week would likely create a chain-reaction of teams looking for veteran backups.
"We wanted to clear it up as quickly as possible," MacLean said. "With Patrick Roy retiring, there's a lot can happen."
Brathwaite played three seasons with the Calgary Flames before he was traded to St. Louis at the 2001 NHL entry draft in a multi-player deal that sent Blues goaltender Roman Turek to the Flames.
Canadian Press
6/1/2003
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - Veteran goaltender Fred Brathwaite has signed a one-year deal to be Marc Denis' backup with the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Brathwaite, 30, played last year with St. Louis.
"I'm very excited," he said in an interview with The Columbus Dispatch.
"I've got a chance to go to a young team and hopefully make a difference. In St. Louis, I didn't play too much.
"Hopefully I can contribute a little more in Columbus, push Marc Denis and help them become a better team."
The contract was believed to have a base value of $500,000 US with several performance bonus clauses.
Brathwaite, from Ottawa, was 12-9-4 with a 2.76 goals-against average and a .883 save percentage.
Denis appeared in 77 of 82 games and set an NHL record by playing 4,511 minutes.
Brathwaite estimated he would be called on to play 20 or 30 games to relieve Denis.
Blue Jackets president and general manager Doug MacLean said it was important to grab a quality goaltender because the retirement of Colorado's Patrick Roy last week would likely create a chain-reaction of teams looking for veteran backups.
"We wanted to clear it up as quickly as possible," MacLean said. "With Patrick Roy retiring, there's a lot can happen."
Brathwaite played three seasons with the Calgary Flames before he was traded to St. Louis at the 2001 NHL entry draft in a multi-player deal that sent Blues goaltender Roman Turek to the Flames.