The Legace hazard (or: It’s just Manny being Manny)

On Monday morning, the Hurricanes announced what everyone knew was coming.  They have signed 36-year old veteran goaltender Manny Legace to a one-year two-way contract.  He will be paid the league minimum of $500k at the NHL level and $105k at the AHL level.  The one-time Stanley Cup winner was last seen in Atlanta’s system on a tryout contract with the Chicago Wolves of the AHL.  This, of course, came on the heels of Cam Ward suffering a deep laceration on his left thigh on Saturday.  Ward has been ruled out for at least four weeks.  The signing was pretty much an emergency situation, and given the price tag, I don’t think they could have done any better.  After getting a concussion in December of last year, the Blues placed the veteran on waivers, and he hasn’t seen the NHL since.  He went to Atlanta’s camp this summer, but didn’t make the final cut.  He’s been playing for the Chicago Wolves, trying to make his way back to the NHL.  Today he got his ticket punched, and he might even get a chance to start.  While some people are making light of the fact that Legace was drafted by (but never played for) the Whale, there’s a far more alarming thing about Legace that should concern all of us.  There’s a really bizarre trend with his health in the month of December.