Veteran forward Lee Stempniak has grabbed himself a one-year contract with the New Jersey Devils after spending training camp on a professional tryout contract with the team, according to CBS Radio’s Andy Strickland.
The 32-year-old winger joins the eighth NHL team of his career, with the Devils being the fifth team he’s played for since October 2013 when he was with the Calgary Flames before being dealt to the Pittsburgh Penguins. Last summer he signed a deal with the New York Rangers and was traded to the Winnipeg Jets before the end of the year.
All told, he played 71 games last season, scoring 15 goals and 13 assists. That’s production in excess of what your average guy at camp on a tryout did the previous year, but it’s been a weird summer for veterans who provide depth scoring.
Stempniak should get a chance on a thin Devils team with new management taking the reins to make his mark and work himself into another contract.
The announcement of his signing comes less than 24 hours after the team announced that they had released Tyler Kennedy from his PTO.
There were a lot of tryouts this summer. Keep tabs on who got cut and who got contracts with The Hockey Writers’ 2015 PTO Tracker.
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Dustin Nelson is the News Editor for The Hockey Writers. He’s a contributor to Hockey Prospectus, Hockey Wilderness, and writes a column for Rotowire. He’s also written for Gone Puck Wild, Wild Xtra, InDigest, Electric Literature, The Rumpus, Tiny Mix Tapes, Prefix Magazine & other publications. Have a tip? Email him at dlukenelson[at]gmail[dot]com.
