Lemieux Called Up, Murphy Claimed.
- The unlikely NHL comeback of Claude Lemieux became reality on January 19th 2009, when an injury to forward Torrey Mitchell resulted in the San Jose Sharks calling up Lemieux from its AHL affiliate.
His long road back to the NHL commenced earlier this season in China. Sharks management were suitably impressed enough by his play to sign him to an AHL contract but many observers (including myself) doubted he would ever be back in the NHL as a player.
When one considers the last time Lemieux played a competitive game was in the 2002-03 NHL season and that at 43 he’ll be the second-older active player?behind the ageless 46-year-old (and Lemieux’s one-time teammate with the Montreal Canadiens) Chris Chelios it’s a remarkable achievement.
- The Tampa Bay Lightning added to their blueline depth by claiming defenseman Cory Murphy off re-entry waivers from the Florida Panthers.
As a result the Lightning will only have to pick up half of his remaining salary which will amount to a very affordable $186K.
An undrafted blueliner who spent most of his career up to last season playing in Finland, Murphy signed a two-year contract with the Panthers in 2007 and showed a lot of early promise but a? shoulder injury caused him to miss 30 games and affected his performance afterward.
If he can stay healthy he might get a good opportunity to rebuild his NHL career with the Lightning.
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