Burish deal is 2 years, $1.15 million. He'll be a regular 4th liner, and provides some much needed grit to this Stars team. I think Steve Ott's play is so good that we tend to realize sometimes that this team doesn't have another physical, tough player like him. Burish provides that, and as many have pointed out on Twitter, the Stars are now going to be a tougher team to play against next season, and won't get pushed around as easily. He's Ott, without the Ott-ness that only Ott has. If that makes any sense.
Raycroft is apparently our backup goaltending answer for next season, and a good one in my book. He's backed up Luongo nicely for the past year, and is widely regarded as one of the better backups in the league as of late (both health-wise and performance-wise.) I know some fans thought the Stars would look within to fill that position, but the reality is that Brent Krahn has major health issues and Matt Climie is not ready for the NHL. This is a good pickup by GM Joe.
Press release after the jump....
Frisco - The Dallas Stars announced today that the club has agreed to terms with center Adam Burish and goaltender Andrew Raycroft each on two-year contracts. Burish's contract is worth $2.3 million ($1 million first, $1.3 million second). Raycroft's contract includes the first year as a two-way deal worth $700,000 /$105,000 and the second year is a one-way deal worth $600,000.
Burish, 27, was a member of the 2010 Stanley Cup Champion Chicago Blackhawks, where he played 13 games last season, collecting one goal and three assists. He skated in 15 playoff games for the Blackhawks last season, accruing two penalty minutes.
The Madison, WI native's 2009-10 season started with an injury in the pre-season when he tore his ACL on September 21 against Minnnesota, causing him to miss the first 64 games of the season. Burish has played in 169 NHL games over four seasons, all with Chicago, posting 11 goals, 10 assists and 323 penalty minutes. He was drafted in the ninth round (282nd overall) at the 2002 NHL Entry Draft by Chicago.
"Adam is a character guy who has been known as a solid teammate in Chicago and we expect him to be the same here in Dallas," said Stars General Manager Joe Nieuwendyk. "We want to be a team that is hard to play against and Adam definitely fits that mold. He's played in 32 playoff games over the last two years, including 15 in Chicago's Stanley Cup run this past spring."Raycroft, 30, played 21 games for Vancouver in 2009-10, posting a 9-5-1 record with a 2.42 GAA and a .911 save percentage. He collected one shutout with the Canucks last season. The native of Belleville, Ontario, was the starter for Toronto in 2006-07, when he played in 72 games going 37-25-9 with a 2.99 GAA and a .894 save percentage.
The 6-0, 173-pound goaltender has played in 251 career NHL games, posting a 103-101-27 record including seven shutouts with a 2.87 GAA and a .900 save percentage. Raycroft was drafted in the fifth round (135th overall) at the 1998 NHL Entry Draft by Boston."Andrew Raycroft is a veteran NHL goaltender that will add depth to our club," said Nieuwendyk. "He's played in over 250 career NHL games and has been both a starter and a back-up. We expect him to come in and compete for a spot on our roster."