The Detroit Red Wings, parent club of the AHL’s Grand Rapids Griffins, have signed two-time Calder Cup champion Darren Haydar to a one-year contract.
Haydar, 28, is one of the most decorated AHL players in recent history, winning two Calder Cups (2004, 2008), one MVP award (2007), one scoring title (2007) and league rookie of the year honors (2003). He has played in two AHL All-Star Games (2003, 2007), posted a league-record 39-game scoring streak in 2006-07, and is the league’s all-time leading playoff goal-scorer and point-getter, records he claimed last month while captaining the Chicago Wolves to the AHL championship.
Last season, Haydar put up 58 points (19g, 39a) in 51 regular-season games with Chicago, along with 12 goals and 15 assists in 24 postseason matches. Haydar also picked up one goal and seven assists in 16 contests with the Atlanta Thrashers, the first points of his NHL career.
Over six AHL seasons, Haydar has played in 417 regular-season games with Chicago and Milwaukee and has registered 170 goals and 286 assists for 456 points. He has added 55 goals and 69 assists for 124 points in 95 Calder Cup Playoff games.
The Red Wings have also signed Ryan Oulahen to a one-year contract. Oulahen, 23, is preparing for his fourth season in a Griffins uniform after serving as the team’s captain for most of the 2007-08 campaign. He appeared in each of Grand Rapids’ first 75 games before missing the final five due to an injury, setting career highs with 14 goals, 16 assists (tied), 30 points and 47 penalty minutes.
A reliable, defensive-minded forward who missed only 11 games during his first three pro seasons, Oulahen made his debut in 2005-06 as a member of the Griffins squad that captured the AHL’s Macgregor Kilpatrick Trophy as regular season champions. His resume shows 76 points (34g, 42a) and 109 PIM in 229 career games with Grand Rapids.
