Bruins sign NHL journeyman Stempniak to 1-year contract
Journeyman forward Lee Stempniak is getting another shot at extending his NHL career after signing a one-year contract with the Boston Bruins.
Under league rules, the Bruins were required to place the 13th-year player on waivers Sunday before he can be assigned to Providence, their AHL affiliate. The move comes some 10 days after Stempniak signed a tryout contract with Providence, where he had two goals and four points in four games.
The 36-year-old has played for 10 teams since breaking into the NHL with St. Louis in 2005-06. He played 19 games for the Bruins in 2015-16, and spent last season with the Carolina Hurricanes, where he had three goals and nine points in 37 games.
Overall, Stempniak has 203 goals and 469 points in 909 games.
The Buffalo Sabres, New York Islanders and Florida Panthers made similar moves in shoring up their goalie depth.
Buffalo placed Adam Wilcox on waivers after signing him to a one-year contract with the intention of returning him to AHL Rochester, where he has a 9-7-3 record. Florida waived Chris Driedger after signing him to a one-year contract with the intention of returning him to AHL Springfield, where he has a 7-6-1 record.
The Islanders waived Jeremy Smith upon signing him to a one-year contract. He has a 16-9-1 record with AHL Bridgeport.
The New Jersey Devils waived defenseman Eric Gryba with the intention of demoting him to AHL Binghamton. The 30-year-old had no points in eight games since being recalled last month.
