After being tendered a qualifying offer by the Flames at the deadline just over two weeks ago, goaltender Leland Irving has re-signed with the club for one more year at $600K, according to the Calgary Herald. Irving had what was by far his best season in the AHL in 2010-11, winning 30 games, finishing first in the league in shutouts with eight and a .913 SV% in 61 games as Abbotsford's starter.
The organization was very impressed with Irving's development over the course of the past year, according to Jay Feaster:
Leland Irving made great strides in his development last season and responded very well to the challenges we presented to him coming out of camp. We are pleased with the progress he continues to make, and we look forward to seeing him in camp this fall. He continues to be one of our top prospects, and at a critical position."
With Henrik Karlsson inked to a two-year contract extension as Calgary's backup for the foreseeable future, it's unlikely Iriving will get a real shot at making the big club any time soon, unless of course Kiprusoff is moved. For the time being, he will continue to shoulder the load as the Heat's #1 goaltender on a team that will probably be fairly mediocre again this season, with Joni Ortio learning the ropes behind him.
In related news, the Flames signed 2011 first-round pick Sven Baertschi to a three-year entry level contract yesterday, as Craig mentioned earlier today. Baertschi will earn $925K per season with an average annual value of $1.45M. That seems a tad expensive for an 18-year old prospect, but then again, I'd probably be doling out cash to one of the first promising forward prospects this organization has had in years if I were Jay Feaster too.