The former Devils grinder gets a tryout contract from the Islanders. Don’t all jump up and down at once.
As teased (or threatened, depending on your point of view) by Arthur Staple last week, veteran forward Stephen Gionta has indeed agreed to a professional tryout contract with the Islanders and will attend training camp with them.
Gionta, who, again, is 32 and 5-foot-7, has played NHL 270 games in six years with the New Jersey Devils organization and has 50 career points (15 goals, 35 assists). He had all of 11 points (one goal, 10 assists) in 82 games last season, which is exactly half of what Nikolay Kulemin (22 points in 81 games) had for the Islanders.