The Tampa Bay Lightning, parent club of the AHL’s Syracuse Crunch, have signed forward Jeff Tambellini to a one-year, two-way contract.
Tambellini, 31, is a two-time AHL All-Star who has spent the last four seasons in Europe. Last year, Tambellini tallied five goals and eight assists in 30 games with Fribourg-Gotteron of the Swiss-A League, along with six goals and three assists for nine points in 20 regular-season contests with Vaxjo HC of the Swedish Hockey League. He added five goals and eight assists for 13 points in 18 playoff games, helping Vaxjo to the SHL championship.
A first-round draft choice (27th overall) by the Los Angeles Kings in 2003, Tambellini played six seasons in North America and was an AHL All-Star in 2006 and 2008. He has recorded 101 goals and 100 assists for 201 points in 176 career AHL games with Manchester, Bridgeport and Manitoba, to go along with 27 goals and 36 assists for 63 points in 242 NHL contests with Los Angeles, the New York Islanders and Vancouver.
