The Columbus Blue Jackets, parent club of the AHL’s Springfield Falcons, have signed center Martin St. Pierre and left wing Dane Byers to one-year, two-way contracts.
St. Pierre, 27, has recorded 114 goals and 291 assists for 405 points in 367 career AHL games with Edmonton, Norfolk, Rockford, Providence and Binghamton. He established career highs in 2006-07 with 27 goals, 72 assists and 99 points, tying for second in the AHL in scoring.
An All-Star Classic participant in 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2010, St. Pierre spent the 2010-11 season in Europe, playing in the Austrian, Russian and Finnish leagues.
St. Pierre was an AHL All-Rookie Team member in 2005-06, and was voted a First Team AHL All-Star in 2006-07 and a Second Team member in 2007-08.
A native of Embrun, Ont., St. Pierre has appeared in 38 career NHL games with Ottawa, Boston and Chicago, recording three goals and five assists.
Byers, 25, combined to record 15 goals and 31 assists for 46 points and had 161 penalty minutes games with Connecticut, Springfield and San Antonio during the 2010-11 season, setting an American Hockey League record with 85 games played on the season.
A native of Nipawin, Sask., Saskatchewan, Byers has collected 84 goals and 115 assists for 199 points, along with 682 penalty minutes and a cumulative plus/minus rating of plus-16, in 324 career AHL games. Byers set career highs with Hartford in 2009-10, recording 25 goals and 51 points.
A second-round draft pick by the New York Rangers (48th overall) in 2004, Byers has one goal and 31 PIM in six career NHL games.
