TabbysGal's Home Page

1999-00 Season
Atlanta Thrashers/Colorado Avalanche

Orlando Solar Bears/Cleveland Lumberjacks/Utah Grizzlies

2000 PLAYOFF NEWS!

Early Hibernation: Aeros rally from 2-goal deficit to eliminate Grizz. Finall score 3-2. Houston wins the series 4-1.
The playoffs are over for Tabby.

May 1, 2000: HOUSTON (Ticker) -- Terry Marchant scored midway through the third period and Frederic Chabot stopped 22 of 23 shots as the Houston Aeros defeated the Utah Grizzlies, 3-1, to take a three games to one lead in their best-of-seven playoff series. Marchant notched a power-play goal at 10:45 of the third period to snap a 1-1 tie. Chabot, who has allowed just three goals in four playoff games, turned away all five shots he faced in the final period to secure the win. Mark Lamb also scored a power-play marker for Houston, which won Game Three, 1-0, in overtime. Ted Crowley tallied in the second session for Utah, which has dropped three straight games in the series. Rick Tabaracci recorded 25 saves for the Grizzlies, who will host Game Five on Wednesday.

April 29, 2000: Aeros Soar Past Grizz In Game 2
Houston 3 - Utah 0
Tabby stopped 21 of 24 shots.

Tabby' Will Start in Pipes for Grizz in Game 2

April 28, 2000: BY BRETT PRETTYMAN,THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE
   WEST VALLEY CITY -- Hockey goalies have long been considered a weird bunch: quiet, intense athletes with silly rituals.
    Yet no player is more important than the goalie. When coaches are asked, "Who's starting?" they know the question is not about a forward or defenseman.
    Sometimes, the answer is easy. Sometimes, it is difficult -- and sometimes, "I wake up in morning and my brain tells me," Utah Grizzlies Coach Bob Bourne said. Rick Tabaracci will start Game 2 of the Western Conference semifinals tonight (7 p.m.) against the Houston Aeros at the E Center. Frederic Chabot, named the IHL's co-MVP with Long Beach's Nikolai Khabibulin on Thursday, will defend the Houston end.
    Tabaracci says that after 11 years, he can compare his role to that of another sport's spotlight player. "We are like the kicker in football, but we are in there for 60 minutes," he said.
    Like the kicker who makes the field goal to become a hero or shanks it and becomes the goat, goalies have to have thick skins. Perhaps that is why they have a reputation of being withdrawn and quiet.
    "Tabby," as his teammates call him, is more vocal off the ice than most goaltenders. He also does things to strengthen the bond with the other players, things other goalies shy away from. Thursday, Tabaracci participated in theshooting drill that concludes practice. Still in his goalie gear, Tabaracci looked odd, sporting a regular stick rather than the big paddle he uses to guard the net.
    For the Utah goalie, it is a way of staying relaxed in the face of incredible pressure. "When it comes to the playoffs, the coach is looking for a goalie who can give the team a win on any given night. A guy who will stay stable and who won't get rattled," Tabaracci said.
    Bourne will not rely only on one goalie through the playoffs and Tabaracci has confidence in teammate, Corey Hirsch. "Hirschy and I both have the experience to help the team win," he said. "Our job is just to play the game to the best of our ability and leave the decision on who starts to the coach."
    That decision was not easy for Bourne, although Hirsch's sore back was a factor. "I would like to say I made it based on their play, but Hirschy had better numbers," Bourne said. "It wasn't based on experience, because I couldn't tell you how much playoff experience either one of them has. It was a gut decision."

Utah 2 - Aeros 1!


April 26, 2000: WEST VALLEY CITY, Utah (Ticker) -- Rick Tabaracci stopped 25 of 26 shots as the Utah Grizzlies captured the first game of their playoff series with the Houston Aeros with a 2-1 victory. Tabaracci, who lost in a shootout in his only appearance versus Houston during the regular season, carried a shutout bid until the third period. Richard Park netted the opening goal 1:48 into the contest for Utah. John Purves, the Grizzlies' leading goal scorer during the regular season with 36, added a shorthanded tally 3:06 into the middle stanza. Marty Wilford netted the Aeros' lone goal 9:32 into the final period. Frederic Chabot, who led all goaltenders with 36 wins in the regular season, surrendered a pair of goals on 19 shots for the loss.

From the Salt Lake Tribune, April 25, 2000: Bourne announced a "gut decision" of Rick Tabaracci as his goalie in Game 1. "It has been five years since I was in the playoffs," Tabaracci said. "I'm looking forward to it."
    Tabaracci joined Utah from Cleveland at the trade deadline in March, but said he had his eye on the Grizzlies long before that. "I asked specifically to go to Utah. Of all the teams I played against, the Grizzlies were the best balanced," he said. "Utah was a tough team to play against, and when a team gives you trouble that you can't figure out, that is a good sign.
    "I guess it was leadership, talent and desire to win that made them attractive to me," he said. "I watched them play and said to myself, 'It would be great to play with those guys.' "
    As if there wasn't enough pressure on Tabaracci to perform, consider this: Three of four Grizzlies goalies who started in the first game of the playoffs posted shutouts (Jamie McLennan in 1995, Tommy Salo in 1996 and Don Beaupre in 1997).

April 16, 2000: The Utah Grizzlies made the IHL playoffs. Utah Coach Bob Bourne said, "I'll match our goalies up with anybody."

April 5, 2000: Tabby Gets A Shutout! Read all about it here!

March 19, 2000: Rick made his first start as a Grizzlie against his former team, the Orlando Solar Bears. Read about it here.

March 16, 2000: CLEVELAND LUMBERJACKS- Announced G Rick Tabaracci was recalled by the Colorado Avalanche.
UTAH GRIZZLIES-Received G Rick Tabaracci on assignment from the Colorado Avalanche.
Read about the latest move here.

March 11, 2000: Rick stopped 26 shots last night against the Orlando Solar Bears before receiving a game misconduct. Stories here and new exclusive photos here.

February 18, 2000: The Avalanche also recalled veteran goalie Rick Tabaracci from Cleveland of the International Hockey League. Tabaracci, who has played in two games this season with Colorado, was brought up because of a neck injury sustained by Patrick Roy on Tuesday at Washington. Roy is listed as day-to-day. Hinote didn't have a point and Tabaracci didn't play in Colorado's 5-5 tie with New Jersey on Thursday.

February 5, 2000: Rick was first star again last night after the 'Jacks beat Detroit 2-1 in a shootout!

January 29, 2000: Rick made his home debut with the Lumberjacks last night and was named first star of the game! Details here!
Tabby's first game as a Lumberjack! Details here!

How did Tabby wind up in Cleveland? Find out here.

Lumberjacks Acquire Goaltender

AMY ROSEWATER -PLAIN DEALER REPORTER
Tuesday, January 18, 2000

When the Lumberjacks lost Evgeni Nabokov to the NHL last month, they knew they needed another top-notch goaltender. So they went out and negotiated a deal with the Colorado Avalanche to reassign Rick Tabaracci from the IHL’s Orlando Solar Bears.

Tabaracci, 31, has played in 285 career NHL games and posted an 11-6-4 record (2.58 goals-against average) with the Solar Bears this season.

Tabaracci became available because one of Orlando’s goaltenders, Corey Schwab, recovered from an injury. With Tabaracci, Schwab and Scott Langkow, Orlando needed to move one goaltender because it couldn’t carry three. Cleveland jumped at the chance to get someone as experienced as Tabaracci.

Tabaracci should be in Cleveland in time for practice tomorrow. Marc Lamothe, who posted a shutout Saturday at Houston, is the team’s other goaltender. Mike Tamburro will return to Greenville of the East Coast Hockey League.

"I didn’t want to be caught in a situation where if Lamothe got hurt then we’d have to rely on Tamburro and someone else," Lumberjacks owner Larry Gordon said. "Tabaracci was the top guy on our list. We didn’t want to wait too long on this, either. We knew Utah was after him, too."

O-Bears Shut Out Cyclones

Special to the Sentinel
Published in The Orlando Sentinel on January 03, 2000

CINCINNATI -- Orlando goalie Rick Tabaracci stopped all 25 Cincinnati shots to earn his first shutout of the season, and right wing Herbert Vasiljevs scored a goal and an assist as the Solar Bears beat the Cyclones 3-0 Sunday in the International Hockey League.

Newly recalled right wing Wes Mason got all the scoring Orlando (19-10-4) would need when he scored his first of the season at 11:49 of the first period. Vasiljevs assisted and then scored at 7:02 of the second. Dan Snyder got Orlando's final tally in the third.

Solar Bears 3, Cyclones 0 Orlando  1 1 1 -- 3
Cincinntai 0 0 0 -- 0

First period -- Orlando, Mason 1 (Vasiljevs, Beaufait), 11:49. Second period -- Orlando, Vasiljevs 9 (Mason), 7:02. Third period -- Orlando, Snyder 3 (Lachance, Richards), 11:13.

Shots on goal -- Orlando, 12-8-15-35; Cincinnati, 8-14-3-25. Power plays -- Orlando, 0-4; Cincinnati, 0-4.

Solar Bears Complete Sweep

Joe Schad of The Sentinel Staff
Published in The Orlando Sentinel on December 29, 1999

There are no shootouts in the National Hockey League, and in a fair world, Rick Tabaracci would have been there Tuesday, and not in Orlando.

But caught between a rock and the Colorado Avalanche, Tabaracci is making the best of it.

Tabaracci stopped four of five shots in a shootout to help the Solar Bears to a 4-3 win over the Grand Rapids Griffins at Orlando Arena.

"I'm not sure what it [Colorado] has got in mind," said Tabaracci, whose rights were acquired by the Avalanche from the Atlanta Thrashers on Dec. 8. "But my mind-set needs to be here. I want to win every night I'm in."

Orlando (18-9-4) completed a two-game sweep of Grand Rapids (21-11-3), which came here on Sunday as the International Hockey League's hottest team. The Solar Bears are 8-2-3 in their past 13 games and are tied for third in the Eastern Conference.

"We got four points against arguably the best team in the league," said Solar Bears Coach Peter Horachek, who expressed disappointment that his team allowed a 3-1 third-period lead to dissipate. "It would be a lot easier if we could learn to close the door."

Grand Rapids center Viacheslav Butsayev tied the score at 3 with one minute, 13 seconds left in the third period, beating Tabaracci with a shot to the low left corner of the goal rom inside the circle. Kevin Miller had cut the deficit to 3-2 seven minutes, 37 seconds into the period, blasting home a rocket from inside the circle. Tabaracci had little chance at either.

The first two periods were two of the Solar Bears' finest of the season. Mark Beaufait was all over the ice.

Beaufait, who has points in six straight games, and 19 in his past 16 games, had a goal and an assist for Orlando. The 5-9 center moved a player off the puck and whipped a cross-ice pass to Herbert Vasiljevs, who snapped a shot home from the slot to open the scoring.

Later, Beaufait scored his seventh goal of the season, planting himself in from of the Griffins' goal and tipping a shot past Griffins goaltender Jani Hurme.

Tabaracci Gets in His Game, and It's a Winner

By Adrian Dater -Denver Post Sports Writer

Dec. 21, 1999 - RALEIGH, N.C. - Thanks for dropping by and helping us to victory. Now, here's a one-way ticket back to Orlando, Rick Tabaracci.

Merry Christmas.

Such is life in the sometimes cruel world of big-time sports, as Tabaracci found out Monday night. The veteran goaltender, called up by the Avs from the International Hockey League so they could meet an NHL technicality for exposing goalies in next year's expansion draft, was the winner in Colorado's 4-2 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes at the Raleigh Entertainment and Sports Arena.

Tabaracci may be going back to the minors, but he'll always be able to say he went undefeated in his Avs career. Not even Patrick Roy can say that.

"I've always maintained one thing; if you play well, you'll play somewhere,'' said Tabaracci, a journeyman who came to the Avs earlier this month from Atlanta. "I still believe that I can help a lot of NHL clubs. Hopefully, it's this one, and if it's not, another one. Whatever the situation might be.''

Brian Rolston scored the gamewinner with 5:27 left in the third period, and Peter Forsberg added an insurance goal for Colorado, which broke a three-game winless streak.

Tabaracci didn't exactly have to "stand on his head'' in this one. He faced only 18 Hurricanes shots, allowing only second-period goals to Sami Kapanen and Gary Roberts. But, he was solid in the third period, stopping all eight shots he saw and allowing the Avs to stay just a goal down.

Sandis Ozolinsh then got the Avs even at 2-2 with his second goal of the night, a wrister from between the circles past his best friend in the NHL, 'Canes goalie Arturs Irbe.

Tabaracci, who got his 93rd career NHL victory, sure wishes he could stay a while longer with the Avs. It's perhaps the first real good team he's played on, after stops with Winnipeg, Washington, Calgary, Tampa Bay and Atlanta.

"It's fun to play on a team that has as much talent as this one,'' Tabaracci said. "You know, at no point, are you ever out of the game. That's something I haven't felt for years. (Past teams), we just couldn't score goals. It's nice to know you've just got to stop the simple ones, and the guys will chip them in at the other end.''

Still, the reality is Tabaracci is certain to be sent back to the Solar Bears of the IHL to continue his quest of making it back to the big time. Tabaracci needed to play at least 31 minutes in the game to fulfill a requirement that he have 25 games played in the NHL the last two years to be exposed in the expansion draft.

The technicality now met, the Avs can expose Tabaracci in the draft, and protect Roy and Marc Denis, or make a backroom deal where one of the two new teams in the league next year, Columbus and Minnesota, take a Roy, for example, and trade him back for a draft pick. What the Avs really want to do is be able to keep Roy, Denis and prospect David Aebischer. Having Tabaracci to expose will make that easier to accomplish. "He did an outstanding job tonight,'' Avs coach Bob Hartley said. "I'm going to sit with Rick tonight, and we're going to make our decision at that time. We just have to wait and see. We wanted to see what he could bring to this organization. You're never too rich between the pipes.''

On the victory, Hartley said of his road-weary troops, "It was a good win for everyone. We battled back, and killed off a big five minute (penalty) right at the start, where the Hurricanes could have put us behind the 8-ball. We killed it off, and killed it off very well. We did a good job of frustrating their best players and keeping the puck on the outside. Everyone did a super job.''

Avs Deal Donovan for Veteran Goalie

By Adrian Dater,Denver Post Sports Writer

Dec. 9, 1999 - SAN JOSE - The Colorado Avalanche doesn't have to worry about losing one of its prized goaltenders to an expansion team anymore.

That was the significance of the Avs' trade Wednesday that sent little-used right wing Shean Donovan to the expansion Atlanta Thrashers for veteran goalie Rick Tabaracci.

But getting Tabaracci is not a sign the Avs are thinking of trading Patrick Roy any time soon. The trade was purely to better maneuver for the expansion draft next summer, when the Columbus Blue Jackets and Minnesota Wild will join the NHL.

NHL rules require teams to expose at least one goalie for the draft, which meant the Avs would have had to expose Roy, Marc Denis or Hershey Bears prospect David Aebischer. None of the other goalies in the Avs' system would have been eligible to be exposed, because they did not have enough pro experience. The Avs did not want to expose any of the three and risk losing him for nothing.

But now the Avs will be able to expose Tabaracci in the draft, because he has 283 games of experience with five NHL teams. Tabaracci, 29, played only one game with Atlanta before being sent to the Orlando Solar Bears of the IHL. Tabaracci will remain in Orlando. Entering this season, he had a 92-124-30 record with a 2.99 goals-against average.

By trading Donovan, the Avs not only better positioned themselves for the expansion draft, they discarded a player who didn't fit in with their plans anymore.

In addition, the Avalanche saved some money. Donovan was making $514,000 this season with Colorado. The Avs have to pay Tabaracci only his minor league salary of $75,000.

Donovan, who came to the Avs in 1997 as part of a deal that sent Mike Ricci to San Jose, never blossomed into the player the team thought he might become. Blessed with great speed, Donovan didn't show much else with the Avs. He had one goal in 18 games this season, and Avs coach Bob Hartley said recently Donovan had "stopped working."

WEDNESDAY's Hockey Transactions -- December 8, 1999
Atlanta Thrashers -- Acquired right wing Shean Donovan from the Colorado Avalanche for goaltender Rick Tabaracci.
Colorado Avalanche -- Assigned goaltender Rick Tabaracci to Orlando of the International Hockey League.

Saturday, Dec. 4, 7:30pm ET
Cincinnati 2, Orlando 1
RECAP
ORLANDO, Florida (Ticker) -- Gilbert Dionne and Shane Willis scored in an 85-second span of the second period as the Cincinnati Cyclones edged the Orlando Solar Bears, 2-1, for their fifth straight win. Dionne opened the scoring 4:03 into the period and Willis added his 14th goal at 5:28. Mark Fitzpatrick stopped 27 shots for Cincinnati, which has posted consecutive road wins for only the second time this season. Brett Clark's power-play goal with less than two minutes remaining in the middle period provided the only offense for Orlando, which fell to 2-3 against the Cyclones this season. Rick Tabaracci recorded 16 saves for the Solar Bears.
Wednesday, Dec. 1 8:35pm ET
Orlando 6, Kansas City 5
RECAP
KANSAS CITY, Missouri (Ticker) -- Herbert Vasiljevs and Todd Krygier each scored in regulation and the shootout as the Orlando Solar Bears topped the Kansas City Blades, 6-5. Vasiljevs, who cut Orlando's deficit to 5-4 with a third-period score, opened the shootout with a tally.
Krygier, who scored on the Solar Bears' last shootout attempt, had an assist to go along with his second-period goal. Rick Tabaracci stopped 27 shots and all four attempts in the shootout for the win. Mark Beaufait's fourth goal of the season tied the contest at 5-5 with 15:42 left for Orlando. Dody Wood scored a pair of goals and added an assist for Kansas City. David Ling tallied his 10th goal of the season 2:06 into the third to supply the Blades a 5-3 lead.
MONDAY's Hockey Transactions -- November 29, 1999
Atlanta Thrashers -- Reassigned goatender Rick Tabaracci to Orlando of the International Hockey League; reassigned defenseman Mikko Kuparinen from Orlando to HIFK Helsinki.
From ESPN Sports: ATLANTA (AP) -- Joe Nieuwendyk scored twice for the Dallas Stars, but the struggling Stanley Cup champions needed a disputed goal by an obscure rookie to finally put away the expansion Atlanta Thrashers.

Roman Lyashenko scored the first NHL goal of his career while sprawled on his stomach, capping a three-goal outburst in the third period that carried the Stars to a 4-2 victory Sunday night.

The controversial goal came after goaltender Rick Tabaracci, playing his first game for the Thrashers, made a kick save and fell to the ice, struggling to cover up the loose puck.

Tabaracci thought he had it frozen with his left arm, but Lyashenko appeared to punch at the puck a couple of times with his left fist. The puck broke free and slid into the net.

The Thrashers argued vehemently with referee Mick McGeough, but he allowed the Stars' two-goal lead to stand.

"The puck was under my arm," Tabaracci said. "I felt him push at it once and it stayed there. He pushed again and it came loose. He was laying on his belly with no stick, so I'm not sure how he could have put it in with stick."

Actually, Lyashenko still had a grasp on his stick when he was knocked down in his crease. The rookie insisted that he used the shaft to push the puck under Tabaracci's arm.

"I just scored," said Lyashenko, playing his fifth game since being recalled from the minors on Nov. 4. "I scored with my stick. I just pushed it in with my stick."

Atlanta, which has the worst record in the NHL after losing nine of its last 11 games, led 2-1 after scoring two goals against Ed Belfour just 37 seconds apart in the second period.

But the Stars bounced back for only their second victory in eight games, stunning the Thrashers by scoring three times within a span of 4:40 in the final period.

"We played with desperation," Nieuwendyk said. "We talked at the end of the second period, and we took it to them from the opening faceoff. It paid off for us."

The Stars won despite going 0-for-7 on the power play. They peppered Tabaracci with 32 shots, while Belfour stopped 23 of 25.

"Most teams we play against can crank it up to a second gear. When they do that, we struggle," Thrashers coach Curt Fraser said. "It's tough when you're playing against a team with that much speed and skill."

Derian Hatcher evened the score at 2, taking an exquisite pass from Jamie Langenbrunner and tapping the puck past Tabaracci at 3:14 of the third.

Nieuwendyk, who scored in the first period to give Dallas a 1-0 lead, put the Stars ahead to stay at 5:27 with his sixth goal of the season. He skated out of the corner uncontested and fired a shot from the right faceoff circle that slipped under Tabaracci's right arm.

Tabaracci, recalled Friday from the minor-league Orlando, is the fourth goalie to play for the Thrashers, whose top two netminders, Damian Rhodes and Norm Maracle, are both on the injured list.

"For two periods, I thought (Tabaracci) was great," Fraser said. "He was rock solid. ... Then one gets by him and it puts us in a tough spot."

Atlanta had gone more than six periods without scoring before reaching the net twice just past the midway point of the game.

On a power play, Yannick Tremblay fired a shot to Belfour's left, the puck taking a weird bounce and popping out right in front of the net to Andrew Brunette. The Thrashers' leading scorer knew what to do, faking Belfour to the ice and flipping in a backhander at 10:10 of the second for his 10th goal.

The crowd was still celebrating when Mike Stapleton, skating along the boards, found Denny Lambert open in the left faceoff circle. Lambert scored his second goal of the season with a shot that deflected off Hatcher and past Belfour at 10:47, giving Atlanta a lead.

But the Thrashers couldn't hold it.

Tabby was called up by the Thrashers November 27 to replace injured Damian Rhodes. Tabby backed-up Scott Langkow in a 3-0 loss to the Panthers.

Utah 4, Orlando 1 RECAP
WEST VALLEY CITY, Utah (Ticker) -- Rich Parent stopped 31 shots and Darcy Werenka scored an unassisted goal less than two minutes into the game to spark the Utah Grizzlies to a 4-1 victory over the Orlando Solar Bears. Parent made 14 saves in the third period and improved to 4-1-1. Werenka scored at 1:57 of the first period and Pat Neaton delivered the eventual game-winner 91 seconds later. Sean Tallaire closed the scoring late in the third period for Utah, which hosts Orlando again on Saturday. Mark Beaufait's first goal of the season was the only offense for the Solar Bears, who have lost two in a row after winning six of their first eight games. Rick Tabaracci, who was assigned to Orlando by the Atlanta Thrashers on Thursday, stopped 23 of 27 shots. Game story here.

ATLANTA ASSIGNS NHL VETERAN TO ORLANDO
Netminder Rick Tabaracci Will Join Solar Bears in Utah
November 4, 1999
ORLANDO, FL - The International Hockey League's (IHL) Orlando Solar Bears received 10-year National Hockey League (NHL) goaltender Rick Tabaracci on assignment from their NHL affiliate, the Atlanta Thrashers, on Wednesday. Tabaracci will replace goaltender Scott Langkow, who was recalled to Atlanta on Monday, on the Solar Bears roster.
Tabaracci, a native of Toronto, has played 10 of his 11 professional seasons in the NHL with five different clubs - the Calgary Flames, Pittsburgh Penguins, Tampa Bay Lightning, Washington Capitals, and Winnipeg Jets (now Phoenix Coyotes). The 30-year-old appeared in 23 games last season with the Capitals, posting a 4-12-3 record with a 2.51 goals against average (GAA) and a .906 save percentage (SPCT). Tabaracci - who played in parts of four seasons with both Calgary and Washington - enjoyed his best NHL campaign in 1996-97, appearing in a career-high 62 games with the Flames and Lightning and posting a 2.70 GAA and a .903 SPCT. The 5-11, 190-pound goaltender has also played professionally with the American Hockey League's (AHL) Moncton Hawks, AHL's Portland Pirates, and International Hockey League's (IHL) Chicago Wolves.

From CBS Sportsline Posted November 03, 1999 :
WEDNESDAY's Hockey Transactions -- November 3, 1999
Atlanta Thrashers -- Signed unrestricted free agent goaltender Rick Tabaracci, who had been with the Washington Capitals, and assigned him to Orlando of the International Hockey League.

THRASHERS SIGN VETERAN GOALIE
(AP) - The Atlanta Thrashers bolstered their depth in goal Wednesday, signing Rick Tabaracci and assigning him to Orlando of the International Hockey League. Tabaracci, 30, spent most of the last decade in the NHL, posting a career mark of 92-124-30 in 283 career games. He had been training with the Canadian National Team. The Thrashers were seeking another goaltender for their International Hockey League affiliate after dealing Corey Schwab to Vancouver last week for a conditional draft pick in 2000. Tabaracci appeared in 23 games with the Washington Capitals last season, going 4-12-3 with a 2.51 goals-against average.

Wednesday, November 3
Thrashers sign free agent goalie Tabaracci
ESPN.com news services
ATLANTA -- The Atlanta Thrashers added some goaltending depth Wednesday by signing unrestricted free agent Rick Tabaracci.
Terms were not disclosed for Tabaracci, who was assigned to Orlando of the International Hockey League.
Tabaracci, 30, spent last season with the Washington Capitals. He backed up Olaf Kolzig and was 4-12-3 with two shutouts and a 2.51 goals-against average in 23 games.
He also has played for the Pittsburgh Penguins, Winnipeg Jets, Calgary Flames and Tampa Bay Lightning during a 10-year career. In 283 NHL games, Tabaracci is 92-124-30 with 15 shutouts and a 2.99 GAA. He had been training with the Canadian National Team.

© 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000 Linda E. Neary

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