Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins sign former NHL goaltender Garret Sparks
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Former NHL goaltender Garret Sparks has signed an American Hockey League (AHL) contract with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins for the 2023-24 season.
Sparks, 31, joins an organization that has six goaltenders signed to NHL contracts entering next season, including incumbents Casey DeSmith and Tristan Jarry, newcomers Magnus Hellberg and Alex Nedeljkovic, as well as prospects Joel Blomqvist and Taylor Gauthier.
A veteran of 10 professional seasons, Sparks has spent parts of four campaigns at the NHL level with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Vegas Golden Knights and Los Angeles Kings. In 40 career NHL contests, Sparks has a 15-18-2 record, at 3.06 goals against average, an .899 save percentage and two shutouts.
The bulk of his NHL experience came with the Maple Leafs during the 2015-16 (17 games) and 2018-19 (20 games) seasons when current Penguins president of hockey operations Kyle Dubas was a member of that organization’s front office, including his tenure as general manager of the AHL’s Toronto Marlies.
Sparks’ finest professional season came in 2017-18 when he won the Aldege “Baz” Bastien Memorial Award as the AHL’s top goaltender after appearing in 43 games and posting a 31-9-1 record, a 1.79 goals against average, a .936 save percentage and six shutouts. Additionally, he helped the Marlies win the Calder Cup that season.
His most recent NHL action came in the form of two games with the Kings in 2021-22.
A seventh-round pick (No. 190 overall) in 2011 by the Maple Leafs, the left-catching Sparks (6-foot-3, 220 pounds) was a free agent for the first half of the 2022-23 season before signing an ECHL contract with the Orlando Solar Bears on Jan. 23. With the Solar Bears, Sparks appeared in 14 games and posted a 7-4-3 record with a 3.45 goals against average and an .887 save percentage.
The native of Elmhurst, Ill. signed a professional tryout contract with the AHL’s Springfield Thunderbirds on April 3 and finished the season with that team, appearing in three contests and compiling a 1-2-0 record, a 2.38 goals against average, a .924 save percentage and one shutout.