Lightning Sign Former Harvard Forward MacDonald
The Tampa Bay Lightning have signed free agent left wing Craig
MacDonald, who competed at Harvard University, to a one-year
contract, Executive Vice President & General Manager Jay
Feaster announced.
MacDonald, 6-foot-1, 195 pounds, has played in 160 career NHL games
with Carolina, Florida, Boston, Calgary and Chicago, recording
eight goals and 22 points. He spent last season in the Blackhawks'
organization, skating in 25 games in Chicago while playing 50 games
for the AHL's Norfolk Admirals, where he served as captain.
MacDonald, 30, scored three goals and recorded two assists with
Chicago and tallied 15 goals with 40 points in Norfolk. MacDonald
finished the season in Norfolk with a plus-9 rating, six power-play
goals and four shorthanded goals.
"Craig is a veteran player with significant NHL experience who will
be given every opportunity to make our hockey team," Feaster said.
"He is a high-character guy who plays hard and competes every
shift. He has very good hockey sense, is responsible defensively,
is good on draws and is strong on his skates. He does all of the
little things it takes to win hockey games and that makes him a
good fit for us. He is also a leader at the AHL level and is
exactly the kind of depth player we need to continue adding to our
organization. We look forward to having him compete for a spot on
our roster in camp."
A native of Antigonish, Nova Scotia, MacDonald is a veteran of 313
AHL games, recording 76 goals and 221 points in seven seasons with
New Haven, Lowell, San Antonio, Omaha and the Admirals. He also
spent two seasons with Cincinnati of the IHL where he played in 160
games and tallied 32 goals and 84 points. MacDonald played
collegiately at Harvard, appearing in 66 games in two seasons with
the Crimson, totaling 13 goals and 33 points. He was originally
drafted by Hartford in the fourth-round, 88th overall, in the 1996
NHL Entry Draft.
