The Calgary Flames sign Ian White
The Calgary Flames have announced that they have signed defenseman Ian White to a one-year contract worth $2.9 million. The Flames and White came to terms just moments before an arbitration hearing in Toronto, Canada.
Ian White
White began his professional career with the Swift Current Broncos of the Western Hockey League (WHL). He was a dominant offensive defenseman from the moment he began in the WHL.
White played well in his rookie season, but broke out in his second season notching 32 goals and 47 assists for 79 points in just 70 games. In his final season, he continued to impress at the junior level scoring 68 points in 64 games and being named as a Canadian Hockey League all-star. That season, White also played on the Canadian World Junior side that finished second to Russia at the World Junior Championship.
White’s strong play in junior caught the eye of the Toronto Maple Leafs, who drafted him 191st overall in the 6th round of the 2002 National Hockey League (NHL) entry draft. White’s stock in the draft dropped because of his small stature, causing many clubs to pass on him, believing he would not be able to remain in the league.
The Maple Leafs elected to send White down to their American Hockey League affiliate, the St. John’s Maple Leafs, where he spent a full season with the club managing 26 points in 78 games. The following season, White played 12 games with the big club, but would not join the Leafs full-time until the following year, when he scored 26 points in 76 games.
White performed well with the Leafs over the next two seasons, and was traded close to last year’s trade deadline to the Philadelphia Flames in the deal that brought Dion Phaneuf to Toronto.
Last year split between Toronto and Calgary, White recorded a career high in points, amassing 13 goals and 25 assists for 38 points.
Calgary’s Perspective
With a weak defence it was important for General Manager (GM) Darryl Sutter to get White back for 2010-11. He will log big minutes with the club, likely playing on their first power play unit. Last year, White was fourth on the team in ice time, and he can expect his minutes to go up come October.
White does fill a major hole for the Flames, as a puck moving defenseman who can also play on the power play. The poor performance of Jay Bouwmeester last season made it even more important for the Flames to bring back White. The 38 points White tallied through the course of last season would have led the Flames defence.
The signing does, however, put the Flames $2 million over the salary cap. This means Sutter still has a move to make before he can cement his line-up for next year. The fix is not difficult though as he will most likely send a couple players down to the AHL in order to pull their salaries off the books.
White’s Perspective
For Ian White, this is a good signing. Next season, he is set to become an unrestricted free agent. He will get a great deal of minutes, and specialty teams time, and if he is able to improve on his numbers from last season he could be looking at a significant pay raise as well as a long-term contract.
The rise of White is impressive, due to his small stature it was thought doubtful that he would be able to make any lasting impression at the NHL level. However, he has shown that he is more than capable of playing with the big boys.
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