Canadiens sign Jeff Woywitka

by Louis Moustakas

The Montreal Canadiens bolstered their defensive depth, signing blueliner Jeff Woywitka to a one-year, two-way contract on Monday. If he plays in the NHL, the deal will pay him 650,000 dollars.

Last season, Woywitka recorded 11 points in 63 games with the Dallas Stars while maintaining a +5 differential. The 6-feet-2, 224 pound Albertan also blocked 97 shots, distributed 43 hits and served 24 minutes in penalties. He has also been known to drop the gloves occasionally, registering at least one fight per season since 1999-2000.

Woywitka was drafted from the Red Deer Rebels in the 1st round, 27th overall by the Philadelphia Flyers in the 2001 NHL Entry Draft. The 27-year-old has played 251 career regular season games in the NHL with the St. Louis Blues and the Stars, picking up 49 points and 141 penalty minutes in the process. In 2002-03, he won the Bill Hunter Trophy given to the WHL's best defensemen.

Notably, Woywitka, along with Eric Brewer and Doug Lynch, was also involved in the deal that sent Chris Pronger from St. Louis to Edmonton.


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Louis is an editor at HabsWorld.net and has been writing about Canadiens and NHL hockey since 2009. Louis was born in Chicago but grew up in Quebec City where he earned Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration from Université Laval. He currently lives in Ottawa and works for the Coaching Association of Canada. He can be reached at l.moustakas@habsworld.net.

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