Jonathan Cheechoo hopes to make Major League comeback, signs with St. Louis Blues –NHL Update
Jonathan Cheechoo was one of the most valuable players in the National Hockey League (NHL) at one point in his career, but faced a major slump that had him headed to the minor leagues for a recovery period.
Cheechoo hopes to reverse all that and make a comeback, signing with St. Louis Blues club to a one-year, two-way contract on Wednesday.
The veteran right winger started off his NHL career with San Jose Sharks after being drafted by them as the 29th overall pick during round-two of the 1998 NHL Entry Draft.
He recorded a whopping 93 points (56 goals, 37 assists) in just his third season with the franchise, by playing all 82 games and finishing with a spectacular plus-minus rating of 23.
St. Louis's general manager, Doug Armstrong, felt like it was the right time to give Cheechoo another chance in the NHL after facing a major decline in his game.
"That's what he was known for in the past — and that's what he wants to get back to doing", Armstrong said about Cheechoo.
Due to various injuries and a incident which had Cheecho facing sports hernia, the 30-year-old veteran forward from Moose Factory, Ontario, Canada, faced a major slump with Ottawa Senators during the 2009-2010 regular season, in which he was able to pot
only 14 points (5 goals, 9 assists).
"Every season there's some real good feel-good stories and maybe this year it will be Jonathan's turn", said Armstrong, during an interview about bringing Cheechoo back into the mix. "He was a dominant player a few years back at San Jose. He's at that age
now where he's looking to re-establish himself as an everyday NHL player that can produce offence”,
Cheechoo spent the last season with two American Hockey League (AHL) teams including Binghamton Senators (Ottawa affiliate) and Worcester Sharks (San Jose affiliate), and showed gradual improvement in his game.
San Jose had taken Cheechoo on board with a two-way contract for one-year, which is understood to be a make-it or break-it situation for him.
It will depend on his performance during the training camp if he will be able to impress the management and regain his position as one of the NHL’s best.
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