It had been only a couple of seasons since 8th year center Erik Christiansen(40) played in the AHL, but before that it had been a few years when he appeared in 16 games with the affiliate of the team he was originally drafted and signed by, Pittsburgh Penguins (3rd round of 2002, #69 overall).
His only full season in the minors was his rookie campaign in 2004/2005, the year of the NHL lockout.
In his third season with New York Rangers, he came out of the gate slow and was eventually squeezed out of the lineup as the Blueshirts were looking for that right winning combination to click.
After many healthy scratches, he was finally demoted to Connecticut Whale on a “conditioning stint”.
In 5 games he scored a pair of goals and added an assist.
Looking to add some punch to their now struggling team, Minnesota Wild stepped in and gave up a prospect for some help up front they hope will pay immediate dividends.
He’s played 359 NHL games scoring 62 goals and 94 assists.
We shall see. . .