Free to sign anywhere
Josh Currie looking forward to offers he could receive as free agency begins Friday
Josh Currie is looking for an opportunity to show he belongs in the NHL.
The 27-year-old Charlottetown native will be an unrestricted free agent Friday at 1 p.m. Atlantic with a chance to find the best fit for his hockey career.
“It’s a chance to see what’s out there,” he said Tuesday. “I definitely want to go somewhere where there’s a lot of opportunity to play with an NHL team – that will definitely be a major deciding factor.”
After four years with the P.E.I. Rocket, culminating with him being the captain in his final year and a half in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, Currie signed with the ECHL’s Gwinnett Gladiators in 2013-14. He spent another year in the ECHL with the Bakersfield Condors before they became an AHL squad. The son of Joanne and Stephen Currie played five seasons with the AHL Condors, getting called up to the parent club, the Edmonton Oilers, for 21 games in 201819 when he potted a pair of goals and helped set up three more.
While thankful for the opportunity with the Oilers’ organization, Currie is looking forward to the prospect of a new home after four consecutive 20-goal seasons in the AHL.
“I am hoping that my resumé can kind of speak for itself,” said Currie, who is known for his 200-foot game.
Currie finished with the second most shots in the AHL last season with 197
– 19 behind Utica’s Reid Boucher.
“It just means I was a little trigger happy,” Currie joked.
Twenty-four of those shots hit the back of the net and the five-foot-11, 190-pound right-winger was quick to thank pass-first linemates like Cooper Marody and Tyler Benson for his success, which included team highs in goals
and points (41) in 56 games.
“I owe them a lot of credit,” he said. “I just had to get open, and when it was on my stick, I usually knew it was time to shoot.”
He had two game-winning goals and nine on the power play.
“I had a few little sweet spots that I would go,” he said of his prowess with the man advantage. “We had good chemistry and they kind of knew where I was going to be.”
Currie recorded an even
plus-minus rating for the Condors (21-27-5-3), who finished sixth in the seventeam Pacific Division. The last games of the AHL regular season occurred on March 11 due to the coronavirus (COVID-19 strain) pandemic, but the off-season couldn’t begin until the NHL season ended. It meant free agency was pushed back from July 1 to Oct. 16.
“It’s been a long wait for Friday, but now that it’s kind of inching closer, it’s getting more exciting.”