Canes Sign Manny Legace to Fill Net

When Cam Ward went down with a grisly injury on Saturday night a bad season got much, much worse for the Carolina Hurricanes. Their star netminder got cut by a skate early in the first period and had to be taken to the hospital. As of Sunday night Ward was still in a Columbus hospital and the team expects that he will miss at least 3-4 weeks.

With the goaltending duties left to former sixth round pick and journeyman backup Michael Leighton, GM Jim Rutherford moved quickly to get some goaltending help. For now, that help comes in the form of 36-year-old veteran Manny Legace.

Today, the Hurricanes signed Legace to a one-year, two-way contract worth $500,000. The last time Legace was in the news was when he tripped over a carpet laid out for Sarah Palin last October. Legace was playing with the Blues at the time and missed five games with a hip injury as a result. He suffered a concussion later in the season and was never really the same. He cleared waivers and played the second half of the season in Peoria with the Blues' AHL affiliate. Legace was not re-signed when his contract expired over the summer.

For now, the Hurricanes have a temporary fix in goal without having to give up any assets and avoid having to play a journeyman backup with a career .897 save percentage. But it remains to be seen which version of Legace the Canes will have in net. Two years ago, Legace was solid for the Blues with a 2.41 GAA and .911 save percentage. Last year, those numbers ballooned to 3.18 and .885 when he lost his way.