{"id":12298,"date":"2017-07-01T11:02:09","date_gmt":"2017-07-01T15:02:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/?p=12298"},"modified":"2017-07-01T11:02:09","modified_gmt":"2017-07-01T15:02:09","slug":"garret-sparks-kenny-agostino-among-first-batch-of-minor-signings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/2017\/07\/01\/garret-sparks-kenny-agostino-among-first-batch-of-minor-signings\/","title":{"rendered":"Garret Sparks, Kenny Agostino Among First Batch of Minor Signings"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The Boston Bruins, Florida Panthers, Minnesota Wild, Nashville Predators, and Toronto Maple Leafs have all made minor signings early Saturday morning.<\/p>\n<h3><a href=\"http:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/s\/sparkga01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Garret Sparks<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/a\/agostke01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Kenny Agostino<\/a> Among First Batch of Minor Signings<\/h3>\n<h4>Boston<\/h4>\n<p>The Bruins have reportedly come to terms with AHL MVP forward <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/a\/agostke01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Kenny Agostino<\/a><\/strong> on a one-year, $800,000 contract. Agostino is an unrestricted free agent at noon on Saturday.<\/p>\n<p>Kenny Agostino led the AHL in scoring with a whopping 83 points in 65 games with the Chicago Wolves. Drafted by the Penguins in 2010, Agostino was one of the pieces sent to Calgary in the<strong> <a href=\"http:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/i\/iginlja01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Jarome Iginla<\/a><\/strong> trade back in 2013. He was not qualified by the Flames following the 2015-16 season, in which he scored 57 points with the Adirondack Heat. The 25-year-old signed with the St. Louis Blues as an AHL piece, where he blossomed into an elite minor league scorer. In 17 career games in the NHL, the native of Morristown, New Jersey has five points.<\/p>\n<h4>Florida<\/h4>\n<p>Forward <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/h\/haleymi01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Micheal Haley<\/a><\/strong> has reportedly come to terms with the Florida Panthers. Haley is an unrestricted free agent at noon.<\/p>\n<p>Haley has spent the last three seasons in the San Jose Sharks organization. Undrafted, Haley has worked his way up to be one of the few enforcers left in the NHL. Last year with the Sharks, Haley recorded 12 points in 58 games, as well as 128 PIM. With <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/t\/thornsh01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Shawn Thornton<\/a><\/strong> retiring, the Panthers were looking for a similar player to fill the void. Haley will come in at a cheap AAV on a short term deal. The 31-year-old from Guelph, Ontario will likely be the 13th or 14th forward next season down in Sunrise.<\/p>\n<p>The Panthers have also signed forward <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/k\/knighco01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Corban Knight<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>Knight was on an AHL contract in 2016-17 with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. In 72 games, the 26-year-old recorded 40 points. Knight was drafted by the Panthers back in 2009 but was traded to the Calgary Flames before playing a game in the Florida system. However, he would return to the Panthers in 2015. Knight has played 29 career games in the NHL, recording eight points.<\/p>\n<h4>Minnesota<\/h4>\n<p>The Wild have reportedly come to terms with forwards <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/o\/oreilca01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Cal O&#8217;Reilly<\/a><\/strong> and <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/f\/ferrala01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Landon Ferraro<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>O&#8217;Reilly spent most of the 2016-17 season in the Buffalo Sabres organization. The younger brother of Ryan played 11 games in the NHL, recording one assist. He played 47 games with the Rochester Americans, scoring 42 points, but voiced his displeasure with upper management. They sent him on loan to the Toronto Marlies, where he would become their number one centre. In 15 games, the 30-year-old recording eight assists.<\/p>\n<p>Ferraro was held to just 22 games in 2016-17 due to ACL surgery. In his limited action, the 25-year-old recorded 15 points with the Chicago Wolves of the AHL. Ferraro has played 75 games in the NHL with the Boston Bruins and Detroit Red Wings. He will be a solid, young depth piece for the Wild, whether on the roster or with the Iowa Wild.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #111111; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 19px;\">Nashville<\/span><\/p>\n<p>The Predators have reportedly signed goaltender <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/l\/lindban01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Anders Lindback<\/a><\/strong>. Again, Lindback is an unrestricted free agent at noon.<\/p>\n<p>On Friday, GM David Poile announced that 25-year-old <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/m\/mazanma01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Marek Mazanec<\/a><\/strong> would not be returning to the Predators organization. As such, Nashville has gone about addressing their goalie depth. It was reported earlier in the week they had come to terms with <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/o\/oconnma01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Matt O&#8217;Connor<\/a><\/strong>, and it appears they have brought in <a href=\"http:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/l\/lindban01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Anders Lindback<\/a> as well.<\/p>\n<p>The 29-year-old was originally drafted by Nashville back in 2008. For the most part, Lindback has struggled in the NHL over his career, with a career save percentage of .904. However, Lindback will come in from Rogle\u00a0BK to solidify the net down in Milwaukee, where he has had success in the past. After a disappointing tryout with the Ontario Reign, Lindback signed in the SHL to finish out the 2016-17 season. In 23 games, the native of Gavle, Sweden posted a 2.63 goals-against average and a .915 SV%.<\/p>\n<h4>Toronto<\/h4>\n<p>The Maple Leafs have re-signed restricted free agent <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/s\/sparkga01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Garret Sparks<\/a><\/strong> to a two-year, $1.35 million contract. He will carry a $675,000 cap hit in the NHL. The first year is two-way, while year two is one-way.<\/p>\n<p>Garret Sparks was lights out for the Marlies in 2016-17, posting a 2.16 GAA and a .922 SV% in 31 games. With the departure of <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/b\/bibeaan01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Antoine Bibeau<\/a><\/strong>, Sparks is undoubtedly the starter in the AHL heading into the season. The 24-year-old from Elmhurst, Illinois has played 17 games in the NHL, all of which coming in the 2015-16 season. He had a 3.02 GAA and a .893 SV% on the last placed Toronto Maple Leafs.<\/p>\n<h4>Leaving North America<\/h4>\n<p>Reportedly leaving North America is 23-year-old <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/d\/dietzda01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Darren Dietz<\/a><\/strong>. Signed last summer by the Washington Capitals, Dietz played 39 games for Hershey before being sent on loan to the Texas Stars. He has signed with Barys Astana of the KHL.<\/p>\n<p>Also leaving to Russia is 25-year-old <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/k\/kalinse01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Sergey Kalinin<\/a><\/strong>. Kalinin was traded by the New Jersey Devils to the Maple Leafs in exchange for <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/l\/loovvi01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Viktor Loov<\/a><\/strong> just prior to the 2017 Trade Deadline. Kalinin had a poor season, both in the NHL and AHL, and was left without a qualifying offer at season&#8217;s end. He has reportedly signed a three-year contract with KHL giants SKA St. Petersburg.<\/p>\n<p>Main Photo:<\/p>\n<div class=\"getty embed image\" style=\"background-color: #fff; display: inline-block; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; color: #a7a7a7; font-size: 11px; width: 100%; max-width: 594px;\">\n<div style=\"padding: 0; margin: 0; text-align: left;\"><a style=\"color: #a7a7a7; text-decoration: none; font-weight: normal !important; border: none; display: inline-block;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.gettyimages.ca\/detail\/644560342\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Embed from Getty Images<\/a><\/div>\n<div style=\"overflow: hidden; position: relative; height: 0; padding: 80.808081% 0 0 0; width: 100%;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" style=\"display: inline-block; position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; margin: 0;\" src=\"\/\/embed.gettyimages.com\/embed\/644560342?et=YGlURDRiRmhYK0ilQYPFxA&amp;tld=ca&amp;viewMoreLink=on&amp;sig=LrKAXkPyXQ4Xefc4o5CZ9zDEZRkI-OjaQwWYgiFMPZs=&amp;caption=true\" width=\"594\" height=\"480\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p style=\"margin: 0;\">\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Forward Kenny Agostino and goaltender Anders Lindback were among three minor signings early Saturday as unrestricted free agency began.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1858,"featured_media":12383,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[831,90,1919,106,325,37,1917,1918,243,38,662,72,75],"class_list":["post-12298","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-anders-lindback","tag-boston-bruins","tag-darren-dietz","tag-florida-panthers","tag-garret-sparks","tag-hockey","tag-kenny-agostino","tag-micheal-haley","tag-nashville-predators","tag-nhl","tag-nhl-free-agency","tag-toronto-maple-leafs","tag-washington-capitals"],"modified_by":"Kyle Cushman (editor)","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12298","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1858"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12298"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12298\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12383"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12298"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12298"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12298"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}