BOLTS STRIKE:MATHIEU MOVES ON

TAMPA BAY – The Tampa Bay Lightning have signed free agent left wing Mathieu Darche to an one-year contract, Darche, a 6-1, 220-pound Montreal native, skated in 76 games with Worcester of the AHL and two games with the San Jose Sharks in 2006-07. The 30-year-old tallied 35 goals, 45 assists and 80 points with Worcester, leading the team in all three categories while finishing tied for sixth in goals and seventh in points in the AHL.

In 436 AHL games with Syracuse, Milwaukee, Hershey and Worcester, Darche has recorded 162 goals and 342 points. He led Milwaukee in goals (28) in 2003-04 as he helped the Admirals capture the Calder Cup.In 28 career NHL games with Columbus, Nashville and San Jose, Darche has recorded a goal and an assist. Before being signed as a free agent by Columbus in 2000, he played four seasons at McGill University in the Canadian Interuniversity Athletic Union, leading the league in scoring in 1999-2000 with 72 points in 33 games.

“Mathieu is a prolific scorer and outstanding playmaker at the AHL level, and will get a chance to compete for a spot on our roster in camp,” Feaster said. “He has great vision and very good hands and he shows excellent poise with the puck. He works hard and competes consistently, and he continues to post big numbers at the minor league level. We simply don't have enough quality veteran depth players like Mathieu in our organization, and we are very pleased Mathieu recognizes the opportunity we present.“Our scouting staff did an outstanding job identifying the depth players we wanted to target, and Claude Loiselle was relentless in pursuing good, solid contracts with both players. As a result, we are significantly better and deeper, organizationally, than we were prior to the start of free agency.”


*Courtesy of the Tampa Bay Lightning