Brendan Shanahan Signs One-Year Deal with Devils

The New Jersey Devils announced on Wednesday that they have signed veteran right wing Brendan Shanahan to a one-year contract worth $800,000. Shanahan joined the Devils last weekend and began practicing with them in an attempt to earn a contract with the team, which will be his second stint with the team. He played the last two seasons with the New York Rangers but was not offered a contract by the team. During the off-season, Shanahan stated his intentions to want to resign with the Rangers and team General Manager Glen Sather repeatedly told him to hold on so they could make room for him. After four months of waiting, Shanahan decided to look elsewhere. It was rumored the Boston Bruins, Philadelphia Flyers, and St. Louis Blues were interested in signing him. In 20 NHL seasons, Shanahan has scored 650 goals and 690 assists for 1340 points and 2460 penalty minutes with the New Jersey Devils, St. Louis Blues, Hartford Whalers, Detroit Red Wings, and New York Rangers. He won Stanley Cups with the Red Wings in 1997, 1998, and 2002. Shanahan should bring plenty of veteran depth to the Devils. Given his age and drop in productivity over the past two seasons, don't look for him to be a major contributor to the team offensively, but his physical presence and playoff experience will be valuable over the next few months. However, it's possible he could get an offensive boost playing with Zach Parise and Patrik Elias, but it still remains to be seen which line he will play on.