Philly Leader

The Philadelphia Flyers announced they have signed goaltender Eetu Makiniemi to a one-year, two-way contract with an average annual value of $775,000. This information was shared by General Manager Daniel Brière.

Makiniemi, 25, joined the Flyers' training camp this season on a professional try-out. Before joining the team, he recorded an 8-8-0 record with a 3.14 goals-against average and a .900 save percentage in 18 games for the San Jose Barracuda of the American Hockey League last season. He also played three games for the Wichita Thunder of the ECHL, where he had a 1-2-0 mark, a 3.39 GAA, and a .907 SV%.

The 6-foot-2, 183-pound goaltender has posted a 2.77 GAA, .906 SV%, and a 27-20-4 record in 54 career games for the Sharks’ primary affiliate in the AHL. He made his NHL debut on December 7, 2022, against Vancouver and stopped six of eight shots faced in relief. In his first NHL start on December 9, 2022, at Anaheim, he stopped 23 of 24 shots to secure his first NHL win.

Makiniemi was originally drafted by Carolina in the fourth round (104th overall) in the 2017 NHL Draft. He was acquired by San Jose along with Steven Lorentz and a conditional pick in the 2023 NHL Draft from Carolina in exchange for Brent Burns and Lane Pederson on July 13, 2022.

Before moving to North America, Makiniemi played professional hockey in Liiga, Finland’s top hockey league. He was named to the Second All-Star team in Mestis, Finland’s second-tier hockey league and awarded Mestis’ Best Goaltender after the 2019-20 season.