Ducks sign Stolarz, Poturalski, Pietila to one-year contracts

The Anaheim Ducks announced that they have signed center Andrew Poturalski and left wing Blake Pietila to one-year, two-way contracts.

Additionally, TVA’s Renaud Lavoie is reporting that Anaheim has also signed goaltender Anthony Stolarz to a two-year, one-way contract worth $700,000.

Poturalski was the Calder Cup Playoffs MVP with Hurricanes AHL affiliate Charlotte Checkers this season with 23 points in 18 playoff games. He has mostly played in the AHL, but played two games for Carolina in the 2016-2017 season. The 25-year-old was signed as an undrafted free agent from the University of New Hampshire in 2016.

26-year-old Blake Pietila was a 5th round pick by the New Jersey Devils in the 2011 Entry Draft. He was a teammate of John Gibson on the gold medal-winning 2013 Team USA World Junior Championship team.

He has 38 games of NHL experience with the Devils along with 4 points (1G, 3A) in those contests. For their AHL affiliate, he has 118 points (59G, 59A) in 217 games.

Both of these players will be used for roster depth in San Diego with the expectation of at least two to three regular Gulls players making the jump to the Ducks this season.

Stolarz will fill the role Jeff Glass carried for San Diego last season as a 1B goaltender alongside Kevin Boyle. Drafted by the Philadelphia Flyers in the 2nd round of the 2012 Entry Draft, the 25-year-old served as a netminder for their AHL-affiliate Lehigh Valley Phantoms. He made his NHL debut for the Flyers in the 2016-2017 season, playing seven games and putting up a .928 SV%. In the AHL, he carries a career SV% of .910.

Stolarz was traded to the Edmonton Oilers for Cam Talbot on February 15th, 2019 where he posted a .897 SV% in six games as a backup to Mikko Koskinen.