The Grand Rapids Griffins on Thursday signed right wing Blake Sloan. Sloan, 29, has played 290 games in the National Hockey League since 1998, totaling 43 points (11 goals, 32 assists) and 162 penalty minutes for the Dallas Stars, Calgary Flames and Columbus Blue Jackets.
After helping lead Team USA to the championship of the Deutschland Cup tournament last November, Sloan originally signed with the Griffins as an unrestricted free agent on Nov. 18. He made an immediate impact for Grand Rapids, recording four goals, including a pair of game-winners, and two assists in seven games.
Sloan’s AHL performance earned him a contract with the Detroit Red Wings. However, needing to clear waivers when recalled by Detroit on Dec. 3, he instead was claimed by Dallas, for whom he had played from 1998-2001. He went scoreless in 28 games with the Stars, averaging just over seven minutes of ice time per game.
A former University of Michigan Wolverine who won the Stanley Cup with Dallas in 1999, Sloan will join Bryan Helmer, Eric Manlow, Travis Richards and Peter Vandermeer to form the veteran core of the 2004-05 Griffins.
