Zach Fucale will be leaving the Washington Capitals organization after the Hershey Bears’ magical season ends.
Fucale, who is currently serving as a backup to AHL Playoff MVP candidate Hunter Shepard, is expected to sign a contract with the KHL’s Traktor Chelyabinsk per the team’s 43-year-old general manager Alexei Volkov.
“We have negotiated with a Canadian goalkeeper,” Volkov said in an interview with Sport24’s Alexey Belous and translated by Google Translate. “He is currently playing in the AHL Conference Finals. We are waiting for the season to end for him and then we can officially announce the signing. But it’s not such a big secret anymore: it’s about Zach Fucale.”
Volkov called Fucale a “skilled goaltender” and that Zach has long considered a playing career in Russia and the KHL.
“Here he wants to find a new motivation for himself, to improve his level of play,” Volkov said. “As soon as he finishes playing for the Hershey Bears, and we get permission from Washington to announce the agreement before July 1 when his contract ends, we will make an official statement.”
Volkov also responded to a rumor that former Traktor Chelyabinsk player, Evgeny Kuznetsov, advised and “almost held negotiations” with Fucale to get him to sign with his hometown team.
“I want to dissuade the public from this,” Volkov said. “Fucale and I have known each other for more than three years… Now everything came together. I hope our union will be successful.”
Traktor is coming off a season where they missed the KHL playoffs entirely and finished ninth place in the Eastern Conference. The team saw four different goaltenders suit up in games including KHL veteran Ilya Proskuryakov (31 games), Sergei Mylnikov (29), Kirill Ustimenko (11 games), and Andrew Hammond (2 games).
Mylnikov, who’s under contract for 2023-24, will likely serve as Fucale’s backup next season after posting a 2.60 GAA, .921 save percentage, and two shutouts.
Fucale leaving the Capitals organization is not unexpected after being surpassed by Shepard during the 2022-23 season. But during his time with the franchise, Fucale was sensational and even had a brief magical run in the NHL.
Fucale posted a record of 41-26-9 in three seasons with the Hershey Bears including six shutouts. He also registered four assists on goals.
With the Capitals, Fucale set the NHL record for longest shutout streak to start a career, 138 minutes and 7 seconds, during the 2021-22 season as an injury replacement.
“They just told me about it,” Fucale said then. “That’s incredible. I did not know that. That’s wild.”
In four appearances that year, Fucale posted a 1-1-1 record, posting a 1.75 GAA and .924 save percentage. Fucale stopped 48 consecutive shots during his first three appearances in the NHL.
The Hershey Bears are currently waiting for an opponent in the 2023 Calder Cup Finals. Fucale has appeared in one game for Hershey during this year’s postseason, relieving Shepard when he was sullied for four goals in a game against the Rochester Americans. Fucale stopped all six shots he faced.
Fucale will be an unrestricted free agent this summer after his two-year, $1.5 million contract ends with the Caps. He made $750k annually.
6/25 Update: According to Metaratings.ru, Fucale’s contract with Traktor Chelyabinsk is a one-year deal worth “about” 50 million rubles ($597,750).
Headline photo: @TheHersheyBears/Twitter
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