Columbus Blue Jackets

Blue Jackets sign veteran center

Published Jul. 2, 2015 11:27 a.m. ET

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COLUMBUS, Ohio - The Columbus Blue Jackets have signed center Gregory Campbell to a two-year contract, club General Manager Jarmo Kekalainen announced Wednesday. As is club policy, terms were not disclosed.

Campbell, 31, has registered 68 goals and 108 assists for 176 points and 618 penalty minutes in 721 career NHL games with the Boston Bruins and Florida Panthers. He has also added 4-9-13 and 19 penalty minutes in 59 career playoff games, winning a Stanley Cup championship with the Bruins in 2011 and advancing to the finals in 2013.

"Gregory Campbell is a hard-nosed, two-way player who is a tremendous competitor and Stanley Cup champion that will add valuable experience and leadership to our team," said Kekalainen. "He is a high quality player and person and we are very pleased to welcome him to the Blue Jackets family."

Campbell tallied 6-6-12, 45 penalty minutes and was +1 in 70 games with the Bruins during the 2014-15 season, which was his fifth with the club. In 358 games as a Bruin, he collected 39-52-91, 306 penalty minutes and was +12 from 2010-15. His best season in Boston was 2010-11 when he tallied 13-16-29 and a career-high 93 penalty minutes in 80 games. He added 1-3-4 in 25 playoff games to help the franchise win its first Stanley Cup title since 1972. He was acquired by Boston along with Nathan Horton from Florida in exchange for Dennis Wideman, a first round pick in the 2010 NHL Draft (Derek Forbert) and a third round pick in the 2011 NHL Draft (Kyle Rau) on June 22, 2010.

The 6-1, 197-pound London, Ontario native was selected by Florida in the third round, 67th overall, of the 2002 NHL Draft. He spent seven seasons in the Panthers organization, collecting 29-56-85 and 312 penalty minutes in 363 games from 2003-10. After spending the majority of the 2003-04 and 2004-05 seasons with the American Hockey League's San Antonio Rampage, Campbell played his first NHL season in 2005-06. He went on to set career highs in goals, assists and points with 13-19-32 and 76 penalty minutes in 77 outings during the 2008-09 campaign.

Campbell played three seasons in the Ontario Hockey League with the Plymouth Whalers and Kitchener Rangers from 2000-03, registering 42-81-123, 261 penalty minutes and a +36 plus/minus rating in 185 games. In 2002-03, he collected 23-33-56 and 116 penalty minutes in 55 games with Kitchener and added 15-4-19 in 21 playoff games to help the Rangers win the OHL championship. He went on to win the Ed Chynoweth Trophy as the leading scorer in the Memorial Cup Tournament (1-6-7) and earn Memorial Cup All-Star honors, leading Kitchener to the Memorial Cup championship.

(Columbus Blue Jackets press release)

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