TAMPA, Fla., July 13 -- The Tampa Bay Lightning will rely on one of the NHL's premier goal scorers and a steady defenseman to provide veteran leadership next season after signing left wing Dave Andreychuk, who is 15th all-time with 572 goals, and defenseman Grant Ledyard on Friday. Both were unrestricted free agents.
Financial terms for the signing were not made available.
"With these signings, we have become a much more mature team," said Lightning General Manager Rick Dudley. "Both players will be huge additions, both on the ice and in the dressing room."
Andreychuk, 37, is entering his 20th NHL season and has appeared in 1,361 games with Buffalo, Toronto, New Jersey, Boston and Colorado, recording 1,209 points.
"Dave Andreychuk is the consummate professional in many ways," Dudley said. "He has a tremendous effect on younger teammates, and on the ice he has been one of the more consistent scorers in NHL history, on even strength and on the power play. When our team needs a goal late in a game, he will be one of the guys we want on the ice because he has a habit of scoring big goals."
Andreychuk recorded 20 or more goals in a season for the 16th time last season, scoring 20 in 74 games for the Buffalo Sabres. He trails only Gordie Howe (22), Ron Francis (18), Mark Messier (17), Mike Gartner (17), Wayne Gretzky (17) and Marcel Dionne (17) in career 20-goal seasons. Andreychuk is tied with Brett Hull for the second most power play goals in NHL history with 236, behind Phil Esposito's 249.
The 6-4, 220-pounder trails Mike Bossy by one goal for 14th all-time and is tied with Bernie Nicholls for 30th in points.
Ledyard, 39, signed with Tampa Bay as a free agent last February and played in 14 games before he was traded to the Dallas Stars in March. He appeared in nine playoff games with Dallas and had a plus-2 rating.
"Grant came in last year and played some great hockey for us while showing our young defensemen how to be professionals, how to prepare for each game and how to commit to a common purpose," Dudley said. "For those reasons, it was important for us to re-sign him."
Ledyard has appeared in 975 NHL games over 17 seasons and also has played for the New York Rangers, Ottawa, Los Angeles, Washington, Buffalo, Vancouver and Boston.
In his career, Ledyard has recorded 89 goals and 362 points.
