(Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images)

The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, AHL affiliate for the Pittsburgh Penguins, signed goaltender Garret Sparks to an AHL contract today. 

Sparks becomes the 7th goalie in the Penguins organization, and the 5th with previous NHL experience. He also becomes the latest player with ties to Kyle Dubas, having played in the system of the Toronto Maple Leafs when Dubas was GM in Toronto. 

Sparks, 31, has a decade of North American hockey under his belt, including spending parts of four different seasons with three different teams. 

Sparks made his NHL debut during the 2015-16 season, appearing in 17 total games for the Maple Leafs that year,  recording a .893 save percentage and a 3.02 goals against average. 

A few seasons later, in 2018-19, Sparks played in 20 games for Toronto, with a .902 save percentage and a 3.15 goals against average. 

Since then, he played one game for the Vegas Golden Knights in 2019-20 and two (very good) games for the Los Angeles Kings in 2021-22. 

He can certainly be described as a journeyman goaltender among the lower leagues, spending time with many AHL and ECHL teams over the years, with varying degrees of success. 

In 2017-18, Sparks won the Aldege “Baz” Bastien Memorial Award, given to the AHL’s best goaltender. That season, he put up a .936 save percentage and a 1.79 goals against average en route to the Toronto Marlies’ Calder Cup championship. 

This past season, he played in 14 games for the ECHL’s Orlando Solar Bears, a tenure that went much less well, seeing Sparks garner just an .887 save percentage. 

He did also play 3 games for the AHL’s Springfield Thunderbirds, which went much better. 

His signing adds to the logjam of goaltenders that the Penguins currently have under contract, including Tristan Jarry and Alex Nedeljkovic, the likely NHL tandem for the upcoming season. 

His arrival almost assuredly means the team will move on from Casey DeSmith. With Sparks now here, it’s very possible he and fellow free agent signing Magnus Hellberg likely to tag team the net for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, DeSmith may not have even an AHL home in Pittsburgh as he was seemingly bumped out of his NHL job by Nedeljkovic. 

Where DeSmith ends up is yet to be seen, and what (if any) return the Penguins can expect is also unknown. But with seven goaltenders now, something’s gotta give, and DeSmith likely becomes the odd man out.