The former Maine standouts ink one-year contracts with Phoenix.
By Kevin Mills
Staff Writer

Chris and Peter Ferraro have ended their tenure with the Washington Capitals and Portland Pirates. The twins each signed one-year contracts Thursday with the Phoenix Coyotes.

The former University of Maine standouts spent two seasons with the Capitals organization, spending much of that time with the Pirates.

The Ferraros did not return calls to the Sun Journal Friday.

The twins were obtained in the summer of 2001 to bolster the depth in the organization. Peter spent the bulk to two seasons with the Pirates, playing 126 regular season games. Chris missed all but two games in the 2001-2002 due to his wife’s illness. He played 57 games with Portland last season.

The Phoenix organization inked the Ferraros to add experience and depth to a young organization. The two may likely compete for jobs with the Coyotes. Otherwise, they should bolster the Springfield Falcons lineup, a division rival of the Pirates.

“I have been working very closely with Phoenix over the past several weeks on how we could best utilize our player budget to serve the needs of both Phoenix and Springfield,” Falcons president and general manager Bruce Landon told the Springfield Union News Thursday. “Our goal was to sign three or four highly-skilled veteran players who would be valuable assets for the entire organization. Peter and Chris Ferraro have been outstanding players in the AHL for the past several years, and this announcement clearly emphasizes the commitment of both Phoenix and our ownership group in Springfield.”

The Ferraros were two of the Pirates’ top offensive forces last season. Peter led the club in scoring with 22 goals and 41 assists in 59 games. Chris was fourth in the team with 19 goals and 32 assists in 57 games. Both were eco-captains for the Planet/USA team in the American Hockey League’s all-star game in Portland last February. Both missed much of November and December upon the death of Chris’ wife, Jennifer, who battled stomach cancer for year.

Neither Ferraro’s saw any action with the parent club last season. Peter played four games the previous season and Chris played one. Despite 10-plus years as pros, Peter played just 92 games in the NHL while Chris has just 74 games. With a young Phoenix organization, the twins could get the opportunity to earn jobs with the Coyotes. Both the parent club and the Falcons suffered from a lack of depth the last several seasons and have struggled to win consistently.

“They’ll provide us with flexibility,” said Coyotes assistant general manager Laurence Gilman Thursday. “These are the kind of players we want in our organization.”

The Ferraros are two more forwards the Pirates have lost from last season’s squad this week. Earlier in the week, Mike Farrell was traded to Nashville for defenseman Alexander Riazantsev. Glen Metropolit also won’t be back, having signed a contract to play in Europe.

Portland bolstered its defense with the signing of Chris Hajt and J. F. Fortin. They’ve also signed rugged left wing Andrej Podkonicky, who has played in Europe the last two seasons. Free agent forwards Matt Pettinger, Colin Forbes and Mark Murphy are still in question. Young players like Martin Kariya and Kevin Spiewak, who had brief looks in Portland, could be brought back while junior players like Steve Eminger, Boyd Gordon and Owen Fussey could make the jump to Portland.

kmills@sunjournal.com

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