Matt Read spent most of the 2016-17 season in the American Hockey League with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. He only played 19 games for the Philadelphia Flyers, most coming after the calendar year. Read’s time with the organization came to an end as general manager Ron Hextall spoke on the team letting their pending unrestricted free agents walk following the Flyers first-round loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins.
He will get another chance to prove that he can still produce at the NHL level. The Minnesota Wild signed Read to a one year, two-way deal worth 650,000/$200,000
Former @BSUBeaversMHKY forward is coming back to the #StateOfHockey.
? #mnwild signs @MReader24 to a one-year, two-way contract ($650,000/$200,000) → https://t.co/eHdR0RlcOZ pic.twitter.com/kWrLOAppWM
— Minnesota Wild (@mnwild) July 30, 2018
Matt Read Signs New Deal With Wild
The past season was certainly one to forget for Read. Making the cut after training camp, it looked like Read would start the season with the Flyers. Shayne Gostisbehere suffered a minor injury at the end of the preseason though, driving the team to take eight defensemen to open the season.
Read was the odd man out, spending a little over two weeks in the AHL before being recalled. Only playing in four games, Read spent the month of November in the press box before returning to the AHL.
It took until the trade deadline for Read to return to the NHL. He played in the team’s remaining 15 games, averaging 9:07 of even strength ice time on the fourth line. The stats as a whole dropped, as Read finished the season with one goal in 19 regular season games. He added two points in the playoffs.
While Read may not be the scorer that he used to be, he still provides the team with an above-average penalty killer. Among Flyers forwards this past season, only Claude Giroux was better at helping the team limit shots on the penalty kill. No forward was on the ice for fewer goals against/60 that Read, who finished with a 5.45 mark.
Matt Read may be on the wrong side of his career, but the Wild still see some value left in the veteran forward.
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