Jul 25, 2007, 15:30 GMT
Tampa, FL - The Tampa Bay Lightning Wednesday re-signed defenseman Doug Janik to a one-year, two-way contract.
Janik played his first full season in the NHL last year after earning a roster spot in training camp. He finished with two goals and 11 points in 75 games, averaged 14:28 of ice time per game, and ranked fourth among Lightning defensemen in blocked shots with 98.
'We have been trying to sign Doug Janik since our season ended prematurely in late April; however, the issue was and has always been that we were not prepared to offer him a one-way contract,' Tampa Bay executive vice president & general manager Jay Feaster said. 'While we obviously lost a pair of defensemen this summer, the fact remained that when we acquired Shane O'Brien at the trade deadline last year Doug became the odd-man out of the lineup. We have every confidence that Doug can and will compete hard in camp to win a job on our blue line, but we felt the need to protect our downside in the event one of our other players jumped over him and grabbed the final spot.'
Janik scored his first NHL goal on January 2 at Montreal and posted his first point on November 22 at Florida. He has appeared in one Stanley Cup Playoff game, and is a veteran of 85 regular season games and six playoff games with Tampa and Buffalo.
'Doug tested the free agency market and received quite a few two-way offers,' Feaster said. 'Inasmuch as he knows our system, he has a head coach who knows him and likes him and is comfortable with him, and because he believes in our organization and the way we do business through the merit system, he elected to come back to Tampa rather than sign elsewhere. We are thrilled that he is back in the fold and we look forward to having him in training camp competing for a spot.'
Janik, 27, was originally selected by Buffalo in the second round (55th overall) at the 1999 NHL Entry Draft and got originally signed by the Lightning on July 6, 2006.
© 2007 The Sports Network
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