Bruins sign 13-year veteran Stempniak

NHL veteran Lee Stempniak is laying the groundwork toward potentially one more run at a Stanley Cup. Stempniak, who has played for 10 teams over 13 seasons, signed a one-year contract with the Boston Bruins, the team announced Sunday.

Per league rules, Boston immediately placed Stempniak, who turned 36 earlier this month, on waivers before assignment to the Bruins' AHL affiliate in Providence. Ten days earlier, he earned a tryout deal with Providence and has put up two goals and two assists in four games. He is likely to stay with the AHL club until the trade deadline roster limit is lifted.

This marks Stempniak's second stint with the Boston organization, having scored 10 points (three goals, seven assists) in 19 games in 2015-16. The right winger last appeared in the league in the 2017-18 season, when he totaled three goals and six assists in 37 games with the Carolina Hurricanes. The previous season in Carolina, Stempniak played all 82 games and scored 16 goals -- the 11th time in his NHL career he scored 10 or more goals in a season.

In his career, Stempniak has scored 203 goals with 266 assists in 909 games. He has played for one-third of the NHL's franchises: the St. Louis Blues, Toronto Maple Leafs, then-Phoenix Coyotes, Calgary Flames, Pittsburgh Penguins, New York Rangers, Winnipeg Jets, New Jersey Devils -- plus the Bruins and Hurricanes. He has reached the postseason only four times, having never played past the second round of the playoffs.

--Field Level Media