General Manager Terry James made it clear at his season-ending press conference in February that he owed it to the loyal fans of Sudbury to be much better for the 2018-19 season. And as soon as the trade freeze was lifted, James wasted no time getting to work in addressing one of his biggest needs.
Goaltender Fredrick Andersen makes his way to Sudbury from Fort Erie, in exchange for a 4th round and 11th round pick in 2018, and a 1st round pick in 2019. With the move, James hopes he has now brought some stability to the Miners crease going forward.
“We love that Freddie has a tremendous size for a goalie and he has shown to have loads of natural puck-stopping ability. He has already put up some great numbers and we just feel he is just starting to come into his prime and will be good for years to come” stated James. “When we found out that he was available, we did not waste much time talking to Fort Erie and the deal came together pretty quickly”.
Andersen will come to camp in the fall as the undisputed #1 goalie, relegating the incumbent Jake Allen to a secondary role. Andersen is signed for the next two years at a $5 million dollar cap hit, which in today’s market is very reasonable for a goaltender of his caliber. He is slated to become an unrestricted free agent in 2020.
While the price was significant (three draft picks), Sudbury was dealing from a position of strength and at the time of the deal, still owned four (4) 1st round picks in the 2019 draft. The pick sent to Fort Erie is Calgary’s 1st, which James is expected to be at the latter end of the draft.
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