Blues sign Will Cranley to one-year contract extension

The St. Louis Blues announced Thursday that the club has signed goaltender Will Cranley to a one-year, two-way extension that carries a $775,000 cap hit.

Cranley was originally chosen by the Blues in the sixth round of the 2020 NHL Draft.

This season, Cranley split time in the minor-pro ranks, with the majority of his playing duties coming with the ECHL’s Florida Everblades where through 23 appearances he went 11-9-3 with an .896 save percentage, 2.71 goals-against average, plus a pair of shutouts. In all, through part of two seasons in the ECHL, Cranley has put together a 20-24-7 mark coupled with an .891 save percentage, 3.31 goals-against average, and two shutouts.

Cranley also saw two games this season with the AHL affiliated Springfield Thunderbirds in which he went 0-1-0 with an .897 save percentage and 4.91 goals-against average. The 23-year-old native of Peterborough, Ont., had previously seen one showing in the AHL, coming in 2020-21 as part of the Utica Comets in which he turned aside 21 of 23 shots in a 2-1 loss to the Rochester Americans.

A graduate of the Canadian junior circuit, Cranley’s time in the Ontario Hockey League counted stops with the Ottawa 67’s and Flint Firebirds. With Ottawa in 2019-10, Cranley and fellow 67’s goaltender Cedrick Andree were presented with the Dave Pinkney Trophy, presented annually to the team whose goaltenders combine for the lowest goals-against average. That season, Cranley won 18 of 21 contests while posting an .894 save percentage, 2.81 goals-against average, and four shutouts.

With Cranley signed, he becomes the third goaltender under contract with St. Louis next season joining starter Jordan Binnington as well as AHL farmhand Colten Ellis. The Blues also have Joel Hofer and Vadim Zherenko, both of whom can become restricted free agents this offseason, per PuckPedia.