The Vancouver Canucks, parent club of the AHL’s Manitoba Moose, announced today they have signed forward Jason Krog to an NHL contract.
Krog, 32, appeared in all 80 games last season with the Calder Cup champion Chicago Wolves and became just the third player in the AHL’s 72-year history to lead the league in goals (39), assists (73), and points (112) in the same season. He recorded points in 62 of the Wolves’ 80 games, had 33 multi-point games, and racked up a 14-game scoring streak from Dec. 8 to Jan. 11.
Krog was named a First-Team AHL All-Star at center near the end of the regular season and then captured the Les Cunningham Award as the AHL’s most valuable player.
A native of Fernie, B.C., Krog followed up that career season with a league-high 36 points, including an AHL record-tying 28 assists, in 24 Calder Cup Playoff games last spring as Chicago secured its second AHL championship and first since 2002.
He tallied a four-point effort, including his second hat trick of the playoffs, in the title-clinching 5-2 win over the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in Game 6 of the Calder Cup Finals on June 10.
Krog capped his magical season by winning the Jack A. Butterfield Trophy as the most valuable player of the 2008 Calder Cup Playoffs, becoming the first p
layer in league history to win the regular-season and playoff MVP awards in the same season. Krog captured his first pro championship after reaching the Calder Cup Finals with Bridgeport in 2002 and the Stanley Cup Finals with Anaheim in 2003.
In just the past two seasons alone with the Wolves, Krog scored 65 goals and 127 assists for 192 points in just 124 games. During his nine-year career, Krog has totaled 362 points (127-235-362) in 303 AHL games with Providence, Lowell, Springfield, Bridgeport, Cincinnati, and Chicago. In 65 total Calder Cup playoff games, he’s collected 27 goals and 55 assists for 82 points and 27 penalty minutes.
The 5-11, 188-pound Krog has also played 198 career NHL games with the New York Islanders, Atlanta, Anaheim, and New York Rangers, totaling 21 goals and 58 points.
Krog won the Hobey Baker Award as the top college hockey player in the United States in 1999 while playing for the University of New Hampshire Wildcats.
