CHICAGO, Aug. 15 (UPI) -- After losing free agent right wing Tony Amonte, the Chicago Blackhawks Thursday signed volatile Theo Fleury, who has been beset by personal
problems the last two years, including a stay at a drug rehabilitation center for the final two months of the 2000-01 campaign.
Financial terms were not disclosed.
"We think Theo is a top-level player in our game," said Blackhawks General Manager Mike Smith. "We've gone through the process with Theo with our eyes open and we know what his personal situation is. We believe Theo can help our team and we can help Theo."
"His off-ice issues have been much publicized," said Blackhawks President William Wirtz. "However, we feel that Theo has taken the necessary steps to addressing his issues."
The Blackhawks were in need of a goal scorer after the departure of Amonte, who signed last month with the Phoenix Coyotes.
Fleury, 34, reunites with Blackhawks Coach Brian Sutter, who coached Fleury in Calgary in 1997-98 and 1998-99.
A member of Canada's gold medal-winning team at the Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City and a seven-time All-Star, Fleury spent the last three seasons with the New York Rangers, but was traded to the San Jose Sharks for a draft choice in the offseason, even though he was on the verge of becoming an unrestricted free agent.
Although just 5-6, Fleury is known for his feisty play and drew the ire of Rangers coaches with frequent outbursts and ill-timed penalties last season, resulting in a career-high 216 penalty minutes. He played in all 82 games and had 24 goals and 39 assists.
He spent his first 10-plus seasons with Calgary before he was traded to Colorado in February 1999, and signed a three-year contract with the Rangers in July 1999.
Fleury has 443 career goals and 612 assists for 1,055 points in 1,030 games. He reached the 30-goal plateau eight times, the 40-goal mark three times, and had a career-high 51 goals and 104
points in the 1990-91 campaign. Fleury was a member of the Flames' Stanley Cup-winning team in 1989 and the team's leading scorer six times between the 1990-91 and 1998-99 seasons.
Colorado acquired Fleury in a six-player deal in February 1999.
In 15 regular season games with the Avalanche, he had 10 goals and 14 assists and posted five goals and 12 assists in 18 postseason contests.
After scoring just 15 goals in 1999-2000, Fleury was the Rangers' best player with 30 goals and 44 assists in 62 games in 2000-01
before he voluntarily checked himself into a drug rehabilitation center.
