The Philadelphia Phantoms on Friday announced the re-signing of defenseman John Slaney. The AHL’s all-time leading scoring defenseman will be returning for his seventh season with the club.
Per club policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed.
"John brings skill, character and professionalism to our team and we are very pleased to have him back," said Phantoms assistant general manager Paul Holmgren. "He has been a key to not only our success as a team, but has been a valuable contributor to the development of our younger players as well."
Last season, Slaney broke the American Hockey League’s record for points scored by a defenseman with an assist on Dec. 30 vs. Bridgeport. The point was his 454th, breaking Steve Kraftcheck‘s 41-year-old record.
During the 2004-05 campaign, he eclipsed the mark for most career goals by an AHL defenseman on Feb. 21 at Hershey. Slaney has currently accumulated a record 157 AHL goals and 486 points in 576 regular season games, and ranks third on the franchise’s scoring list with 260 points in a Phantoms uniform.
Slaney captured the Eddie Shore Award as the AHL’s top blueliner in both 2000-01 and 2001-02. He has appeared in five AHL All-Star Classics, winning MVP honors at the 2001 event in Wilkes-Barre and serving as captain for the Canadian team in his hometown of St. John’s, Nfld., in 2002. He is the all-time leading scorer in All-Star Game history with eight career points.
Other accolades include being selected twice as a First Team AHL All-Star (2001 and 2002) and a Second Team selection in 2004. He was an alternate captain for the Phantoms’ 2005 Calder Cup championship team and became the seventh captain in team history last season.
Slaney, 34, has also added 22 goals and 69 assists for 91 points in 268 career NHL games.
