"Ilkka Pikkarainen is a forward who brings size, strength and toughness to our roster," said Devils' President/CEO/General Manager Lou Lamoriello. "We welcome him back to our hockey club."
Pikkarainen, 28, re-joins the organizatin after returning to HIFK Helsinki (Fin.) for the past three seasons. In 2008-09, he recorded 24 goals and 13 assists for 37 points, and 149 penalty minutes in 54 games. He led the team in goals and penalty minutes, while tying for third in points.
Well, it's certainly a surprise! Pikkarainen has done fairly well with HIFK Helsinki in the three seasons he's been there. If I recall correctly, and hockeydb confirms this, he's a right winger. Truth be told, I'm expecting much more than this; but hey, he's a player for the bottom two lines that the Devils may find useful. Please don't turn the comments into a bunch of complaints about how this is awful because he's not a bigger name - the Devils can still sign plenty of players. This is just one.
I'll update when there's contract information.
