Manny Malhotra, veteran of 991 games, isn’t ready to hang up the skates.
The 35-year-old has taken a professional tryout contract (PTO) with the Columbus Blue Jackets’ AHL affiliate Lake Erie Monsters, the team announced Thursday. He’s expected to join the team immediately and be suited up for Thursday’s game against the Iowa Wild.
Blue Jackets Assistant General Manager and Monsters General Manager Bill Zito announced the signing, saying, “Manny is a high character player who has a lot of experience having played nearly 1,000 games over his 16-year NHL career. We are happy to have signed him to a tryout contract and believe he will provide great leadership and contribute to our club both on and off the ice.”
Malhotra played 344 games with the Blues Jackets previously, the most he spent with any of the seven teams he suited up for during his NHL career. He came to Columbus when the team claimed him off waivers from the Dallas Stars at age 23.
Malhotra had a scare in his time with the Vancouver Canucks, taking a puck to the eye and having Vancouver decide that they weren’t comfortable with him returning to the ice afterward.
After that Malhotra moved on to the Carolina Hurricanes and then played 58 games with the Montreal Canadiens last season, scoring one goal and three assists in that time.