Iqaluit, NU (CP)
Batman had Robin. Shaq had Kobe. Now, once again, Draper has Maltby. Silent until now during free agency, the Rovers inked their first unrestricted free agent Friday night by signing Kirk Maltby to a one-year, $1M contract. A premier penalty killer, Maltby will team once again with Kris Draper, with whom he played for many years in a rival professional league years ago. “I’m really excited to be joining the Rovers”, Maltby said when reached by phone. “They’re obviously the defending champion, and I’ll get to play with a good friend of mine in Drapes. I hope I can add a lot to their team, especially on the defensive end”.
“We knew we needed another forward or two going into free agency, but to get a guy of this quality is great for the team”, GM Stringer said. “I’m confident we can score goals as a forward group, but you can never have enough glue guys, those guys that can go out and kill off a penalty late in the third when you’ve got a one goal lead. Kirk is one of those guys”.
The Rovers may look to add one or two more forwards before free agency is over. Then they will figure out their numbers going into training camp.
