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Golden Knights sign Oscar Dansk to 1-year extension

The Vegas Golden Knights signed goalie Oscar Dansk to a one-year contract extension, the team announced on Thursday during a livestream.

It is a two-way deal with an average-annual value of $700,000.

Dansk has been with the Golden Knights since their inception, signing in July 2017. The former second-round pick by the Columbus Blue Jackets has started four games for Vegas (3-1-0) but has one start to his credit in the past two seasons.

Where Dansk has proved his worth is in the American Hockey League with the Chicago Wolves. The Swedish goaltender went 18-12-4 with a 2.57 goals-against average this season for the Wolves prior to the AHL’s season being canceled due to COVID-19.

The 26-year-old Dansk was the starter for Chicago during its run to the Calder Cup Final in 2018-19, finishing the regular season 27-13-2.

Dansk will enter next season as the presumptive favorite to start for the Henderson Silver Knights, who will begin play as Vegas’ new AHL affiliate whenever the paused NHL season ends. There’s an outside chance Dansk could be in play to back up Marc-Andre Fleury for the big club should the Golden Knights fail in their miraculous hope of re-signing Robin Lehner this offseason.

Dansk will be forever remembered in Golden Knights lore for being the injury replacement to Malcolm Subban in the inaugural season. Dansk won his first three starts, including the first shutout in team history — a 7-0 win at home against the Colorado Avalanche — on Oct. 27, 2017. Dansk sustained a lower-body injury his next start at the New York Rangers and would not see the NHL roster for anything but a backup role going forward.

He lost his first NHL start on Oct. 21, allowing all six goals in a 6-2 loss at the Philadelphia Flyers.