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End of the road? ‘Canes release DiPietro from AHL tryout

RickDiPietro2

Veteran NHL goalie Rick DiPietro has been released from his professional try out contract with the AHL Charlotte Checkers, the club announced on Tuesday.

The news comes after DiPietro went 0-4-0 with a 5.18 GAA and .846 save percentage with the Checkers, Carolina’s minor-league affiliate. The 32-year-old netminder joined the club last month in the wake of injuries to Cam Ward and Anton Khudobin.

“[DiPietro] called [‘Canes GM] Jim Rutherford last night and thanked him for the opportunity,” Checkers head coach Jeff Daniels explained. “He just didn’t think it was going to go anywhere.

“I talked to him last week and said right now we have three goalies here and we’re waiting for one of them to step up and be the guy. The opportunity was there for him to do that, but he didn’t feel that it was going to go his way.”

The ‘Canes are getting healthier in goal -- Ward recently returned from injury -- and third-stringer Justin Peters played extremely well in relief, meaning the opportunity for DiPietro to play in the NHL again never came to fruition.

The former first overall pick (2000 NHL Entry Draft) hasn’t played in the NHL since last season, when he made three appearances for the Islanders, going winless with a 4.09 GAA. The Islanders bought out the remainder eight years of his contract this summer, and will pay him $1.5 million for each of the next 16 years.

When asked what was next in his comeback attempt, DiPietro didn’t have any answers.

“I don’t know,” he said. “I haven’t even thought about that, to be honest.”