Claude Lemieux signs tryout deal with Sharks.
November 25th, 2008 Posted in NHL hockey newsClaude Lemieux signs tryout deal with Sharks.
Claude Lemieux has signed a tryout contract with the San Jose Sharks in hopes of returning to the NHL after a five-year absence.
The 43-year-old Lemieux is expected to report to the Sharks’ AHL affiliate in Worcester this week, San Jose spokesman Scott Emmert said Monday.
Lemieux won four Stanley Cup titles during 18 NHL seasons with five clubs while earning a reputation as one of hockey’s top agitators. He won the Conn Smythe Trophy as the NHL’s playoff MVP in 1995 with the New Jersey Devils, and he also won championships with Montreal (1986) and Colorado (1996) before adding a fourth ring back with New Jersey in 2000.
His 80 career playoff goals are ninth in league history, but Lemieux hasn’t played in the NHL since the 2002-03 season, which he spent with Phoenix and Dallas. Earlier this year, Lemieux played a two-game stint with the China Sharks, San Jose’s affiliate in Shanghai, while gauging his ability to make a full comeback.
Lemieux is a longtime friend of Sharks general manager Doug Wilson, who has taken a chance on veteran players before. Defenseman Sandis Ozolinsh played 38 games with San Jose last season after few clubs were interested in the 35-year-old former All-Star.
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Blues trade Stempniak to Leafs.
The Blues traded winger Lee Stempniak to the Toronto Maple Leafs today for defenseman Carlo Colaiacovo and center Alex Steen.
Steen, 24, has two goals and two assists in 20 games this season. He scored 15, 15 and 18 goals the past three seasons.
Colaiacovo, 25, had one assist and a minus-2 rating in 10 games. He played 48 games in 2006-07, but only 28 last season when he was hampered by a groin injury.
Stempniak, 25, had three goals and 10 assists for 13 points, tied for fourth-highest total on the Blues.
In four seasons with the Blues, Stempniak scored 57 goals with 73 assists in 233 games. Nine of his 57 goals were game-winners.
He scored 27 goals in 2006-07, but slumped to 13 goals in 80 games last season.
