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Blackhawks expected to sign goalie Ward to 1-year contract

The Blackhawks are expected to sign 13-year NHL veteran goalie Cam Ward to a one-year contract when free agency opens Sunday.

The deal is worth $2.5 million, according to SportsNet.

Ward, who has 568 career starts and a 318-244-84 record, backstopped the Carolina Hurricanes to a Stanley Cup in 2005-06 when he was just a 21-year-old rookie.

He backed up Scott Darling for the first half of last season, but when Darling struggled in his first year as a starter, Ward stepped in and started most of the games down the stretch.

He finished with a 23-14-4 record, but his .906 save percentage and 2.73 goals-against average ranked 36th and 22nd among goalies with at least 30 appearances.

Ward, playing on plenty of undermanned Carolina teams, hasn't posted a save percentage above .910 since 2011-12.

Assuming Corey Crawford is healthy and Ward is the backup, the Hawks would probably place Anton Forsberg (10-16-4, .908, 2.97 last season) on waivers. If he clears, they would assign him to Rockford.

The Hawks were also in talks with James van Riemsdyk, but TSN's Frank Seravalli reported late Saturday night that van Riemsdyk is expected to sign with Philadelphia.

Much of the league is waiting on which team John Tavares will sign with. The Islanders captain was still talking with six teams as of Saturday. He is expected to command as much as $10 million per season.

• Brandon Pirri, who scored 29 goals in 57 games for the Chicago Wolves last season, signed a one-year extension with the Vegas Golden Knights on Saturday.

It is a two-way contract, meaning he can go back and forth from the Wolves to the Golden Knights without going through waivers.

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