Andrew Raycroft’s NHL career has come to an end — for now, anyways.
The free agent netminder has signed a contract with Italian team Milano Rossoblu after splitting time last season between the Dallas Stars and the AHL’s Texas Stars.
Raycroft appeared in 10 NHL games in 2011-12, compiling a 2-8-0 record with a 3.51 goals-against average and .897 save percentage. He was placed on waivers by the Stars in December.
The Rossoblu are one of the most successful teams in Italian hockey history, winning 15 league championships and two Spengler Cups since being founded in 1924. They were promoted to Italy’s top league last season after winning the Serie A2 championship, which could pave the way for the Rossoblu to become the first Western European team to join the KHL.
Milano entered into a partnership with the KHL in 2011 but were denied entrance into the league for next season in part because they don’t have the talent to compete with the top Russian teams.
Raycroft won the Calder Trophy as the NHL’s top rookie in 2003-04 with the Boston Bruins after posting a 29-18-9 record with a 2.05 goals-against average and .926 save percentage.
In 280 games between the Bruins, Toronto Maple Leafs, Colorado Avalanche and Vancouver Canucks, the Belleville, Ont., native has a career 2.89 GAA and .900 save percentage with nine shutouts.
He was drafted by the Bruins in the fifth round of the 1998 NHL Entry Draft.
