The NY Islanders needed an injection of offense and received their first dose of it today when Lou Lamoriello signed Anthony Duclair to a four-year, $3.5M AAV contract.
The Pointe-Claire, Quebec native has spent 10 seasons in the NHL, playing for eight different teams. After bouncing around from team to team, Duclair is looking forward to having a steady home for what he hopes to be four years.
"Moving around these past couple of years - I think at this stage of my career and my life I just wanted a little more stability trying to find a home for a little bit," said Duclair as he spoke to the media this evening. "I'm glad that Lou gave me that bode of confidence and I'm looking forward to getting started and moving back to New York."
Duclair made his NHL debut with the New York Rangers during the 2014-15 season, but will now be on the other end of the ice, as he'll take on his former team at least three times per season.
"Looking forward to those New York matchups," Duclair said. "Those are always exciting. The rivalry is always intense and those games are fun to watch - fun to be a part of. Looking forward to those battles for sure."
While it's a new home for Duclair who says he's not too familiar with Long Island, there will be some familiar faces in the locker room when he walks in on day one.
Patrick Roy was behind the bench with the Quebec Remparts for two years during Duclair's tenure with the organization. According to Stefan Rosner of The Hockey News, Duclair said that Roy called him this morning expressing his desire for Duclair to join the Islanders. "When a coach tells you he wants you on his team, it's hard to say no - especially when it's Pat"
Since joining the Islanders, Roy has been much more tamed than his first head coaching stint with the Colorado Avalanche - a fire that he also carried with him at the junior level.
"He's someone that demands a lot out of you, but at the same time he's extremely fair," Duclair said. "I know exactly how he treats everyone, what he expects from myself. I don't think it's going to be any different from junior."
During Duclair's time with a quarter of the franchises in the league, he spent a year and a half playing with JG Pageau and the Ottawa Senators. Duclair says that Pageau has remained a good friend of his and the two have already spoken today.
"Pager is an awesome dude. Stayed in contact ever since we both left Ottawa. He's a close friend of mine," Duclair said. "We actually talked today. I'm just very excited to be joining him and you know, I think we both had some success together as linemates in Ottawa... You really know what you're going to get out of him each and every night."