East Rutherford, NJ (Sports Network) - Brendan Shanahan will return to the NHL for a 22nd season, with the club for whom he began his lengthy career.
The New Jersey Devils announced on Saturday that Shanahan has agreed in principle to skate for the club. Although he has yet to sign a contract to make it official, Devils general manager Lou Lamoriello said details of a deal will be worked out in the next couple days.
"In our minds, Brendan can be a full-time player," Lamoriello said during a conference call. "It's no different than any other player. They determine the ice time that they get, and the coaches determine how much they're used within how the games go. He's not being signed just to play on power plays, or just to play on penalty kills. We feel he can come and help this team be better and have more success."
There is also no firm timetable for Shanahan's return to game action, but Lamoriello added that the veteran will skate on his own for the time being.
Entering the weekend, the Devils are 23-14-3, good enough for third place in the Atlantic Division and sixth place in the Eastern Conference, but have struggled offensively, having been shut out in three of their last nine contests.
A native of Mimico, Ontario, the soon-to-be 40-year-old was the Devils' second overall pick in the 1987 draft. After four seasons with New Jersey, he signed with the St. Louis Blues as a free agent in July, 1991 -- a move which altered the luck of the franchise -- as the Devils received defenseman Scott Stevens as compensation.
Shanahan leads all active NHL players in goals scored with 650, ranking 11th on the all-time list, only 18 behind Hall of Fame forward Luc Robitaille. He has also appeared in eight All-Star games and captured three Stanley Cup titles while with the Red Wings in 1997, 1998 and 2002.
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With the New York Rangers a season ago, his second on Broadway, Shanahan posted 23 goals and 46 points in 73 games.
The gritty winger has appeared in 1,490 career games with the Devils, Blues, Hartford Whalers, Detroit Red Wings and Rangers, adding 690 assists for 1,340 points, along with 2,460 penalty minutes.
In 2002, Shanahan captured the gold medal in Salt Lake City with Team Canada and won the Stanley Cup with Detroit, becoming only the third player in NHL history, at that time, to win both in the same year.
