Garnet Exelby signs with the Chicago Blackhawks, assigned to minors
It was announced Friday 26 November 2010 that the Chicago Blackhawks have signed defenseman Garnet Exelby. Given the limited space on the Blackhawks' defence corps, Exelby has been assigned the Rockford IceHogs, Chicago’s American Hockey League Affiliate.
Exelby has not played in the NHL this season.
Exelby was signed to a professional try-out contract for Rockford and was playing as the team’s captain. Rockford released him from the try-out contract to officially sign with the Blackhawks organization. In 18 games for the IceHogs, Exelby registered zero
points and put up 49 penalty minutes.
Exelby is known more for his physical, gritty play and his devastating body checks than his defensive capabilities. The 29-year-old, who stands at 6'1'' and weighs 215 lb, spent the majority of his career with the Atlanta Thrashers. He was selected by the
Thrashers in the eighth round, 217th overall.
On July 1 2009, Exelby was traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs for the final year of his contract. When his contract expired, Brian Burke and the Maple Leafs opted not to re-sign him. The defenceman played 51 games for the Leafs, scoring one goal and four
points while racking up 73 penalty minutes.
Exelby was part of the Chicago Wolves team that won the Calder Cup in 2001-02. In the post-season he played in all 25 games and earned four points and 49 penalty minutes. It was the team’s first Calder Cup win, as well as their first season with the AHL.
In 408 career NHL games, Exelby scored seven goals and 50 points, while earning himself 584 minutes worth of penalties and 25 regular season NHL fights. In the AHL, where Exelby will likely be spending the majority of his time, he has played 146 games. In
that time frame he has scored six goals and 16 points while registering 446 penalty minutes.
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