Goaltender
Ray Emery cleared waivers Tuesday and now is free to resume his career by joining the Anaheim Ducks' AHL farm club in Syracuse.
"I've felt good for a couple of weeks now and had been trying to find the right spot," Emery told ESPN.com Tuesday afternoon, shortly after clearing waivers. "Anaheim was interested and I'm really excited it worked out. I get a chance to start up again."
Emery signed a one-year, two-way deal Monday with the Ducks. The deal pays him a $500,000, pro-rated salary in the NHL and $105,000 in the minors.
The Ducks are awaiting immigration paperwork for Emery, a Canadian, so his arrival in Syracuse is expected to be delayed a couple of days. Emery wasn't sure when his first game with Syracuse would be.
"I'll get a feel for things in the first few days of practice as to where I'm at, or how far off I am from really being able to compete in a game," Emery said. "But I don't think I'm too far. If it was more than a week, I'd be surprised."
The 28-year-old is attempting a comeback from a hip condition that threatened his career. He has rehabbed for eight months in the Toronto area. Emery underwent specialized hip surgery in April to address deterioration of the ball of his right hip without having to undergo a full replacement.
It's been a long journey, rehabbing every day with trainer Matt Nichol.
"I've been lucky," Emery said. "It has been long, but I haven't had any crazy setbacks. It's been really gradual but consistently moving forward. Maybe a few things took longer than I thought, but all in all I've been lucky. My body responded well to it. Everything came as it should."
Emery has a career record of 87-51-15 in 163 appearances with the Ottawa Senators and Philadelphia Flyers. He has a career 2.70 goals-against average and .907 save percentage and led the Senators to an appearance in the 2007 Stanley Cup finals.
Pierre LeBrun covers the NHL for ESPN.com.