CHICAGO, July 18 -- The Chicago Blackhawks set their sights on two players in the free agent market this summer and came away with one Tuesday by signing veteran forward Valeri Zelepukin.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Zelepukin, an unrestricted free agent, had 11 goals and 21 assists in 77 games for the Philadelphia Flyers last season.
"Based on our needs, we were interested in two players and they were Dallas Drake and Valeri Zelepukin," Blackhawks manager of hockey operations Mike Smith said. Drake left the Phoenix Coyotes and signed with the St. Louis Blues, leaving the Blackhawks to pursue Zelepukin, who plays both left and right wing.
A native of Russia, Zelepukin spent seven-plus seasons with the New Jersey Devils before being traded to the Edmonton Oilers in January 1998. He finished the season in Edmonton and was traded to Philadelphia at the start of the 1998-99 campaign.
He has appeared in 559 games and has 114 goals and 173 assists for 287 points.
