8th year net minder Joe Cannata(35) has been playing under NHL contracts since completing four years at Merrimack College but leaves for a first time, heading to Sweden’s tier two Allsvenskan signing with IF Bjorkloven for 2019/2020.
He likely is leaving as he was reassigned further down to the ECHL mostly in the last pair of seasons while under contract to Colorado Avalanche and even helped affiliate Colorado Eagles win the 2018 Kelly Cup Championship but has played no games in the big league.
The decently sized goalie has played 121 AHL games and 99 in the lower league (minus playoffs).
At 29-years old he should do very well overseas in his first run to possible move up to an SHL club.
Joe Cannata (35)
The 25-year old gets another one year extension as Vancouver Canucks look to open up the starter job for affiliate Utica Comets with a goaltender trade before 2015/2016 season starts.
He spent most of his 3rd year in the ECHL with Ontario Reign but was impressive with a 12-6 record and 2.02 GA and .927 SV% in the regular campaign and then he went 4-4 with a 2.33 GA, .904 SV% and a pair of shutouts in the Kelly Cup Playoffs before being eliminated in the Western Conference Final.
In his AHL 2014/2015 season he was a pretty sharp 3-2 with a 1.99 GA and .932 SV% and joined the team as back up through the Calder Cup Final round.
From here it will be interesting to see what he does with a full season workload for the farm club if he gets it. He could easily put himself in a good spot for a first NHL recall.
Joe Cannata(35) Utica Comets
Vancouver Canucks‘ 6th round pick in the 2009 draft (#173 overall) goalie Joe Cannata(35) finds himself in a bit of a logjam to find any time between the pipes with their minor league affiliate Utica Comets.
The Massachusetts-born net minder is on a one-year contract extension with the parent club and will start down a notch on the pro ladder with Ontario Reign.
He’s played in the league before, appearing in 7 ECHL games in his rookie campaign.
The 6’1″ 200 lbs. backstop spent the entirety of 2013/2014 in the AHL posting a respectable 11-12 record with a 2.83 GAA and .907 SV% on a mostly shaky team.
He also played in 14 games with then farm team Chicago Wolves in his first year and had even slightly better numbers.
The 24-year old played four seasons at Merrimack College putting up stellar totals.
He’ll definitely have to work hard to get back on the radar.