Connecticut Whale general manager Jim Schoenfeld announced today that the team has signed forward Jason Williams to a professional tryout (PTO) agreement.
Williams, an 11th-year pro, is a veteran of 420 NHL games and won a Stanley Cup in 2002 with the Detroit Red Wings.
The 30-year-old Williams, a 5-11, 192-pound native of London, Ontario, played 44 games last season in his second career stint with the Red Wings, registering six goals and nine assists for 15 points, along with eight penalty minutes. He also was scoreless in three playoff games with Detroit.
Williams, who has spent the last five seasons entirely in the NHL, has totaled 91 goals and 129 assists for 220 points, along with 147 PIM, in his 420 career NHL appearances with Detroit, Chicago, Atlanta and Columbus. His best season was 2005-06, when he struck for 21 goals and 37 assists for 58 points in 80 games with Detroit.
In 173 career AHL outings with the Cincinnati Mighty Ducks and Grand Rapids Griffins, Williams has tallied 70 goals and 94 assists for 164 points, and has served 93 minutes in penalties. He was Cincinnati’s top point-scorer in his rookie year of 2000-01, with 24 goals and 45 assists for 69 points in 76 games. Williams also participated in the 2002 AHL All-Star Classic.
Williams was originally signed by the Red Wings as a free agent Sept. 18, 2000, out of the Ontario Hockey League, in which he totaled 74 goals and 120 assists for 194 points in 249 career games with the Peterborough Petes.
