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Flyers Sign Mike Knuble and Turner Stevenson
Forwards agree to three-year deals
The Philadelphia Flyers announced on Saturday that they have signed 6�3�, 230-pound right wing Mike Knuble (kuh-NOO-buhl) and 6�3�, 220-pound right wing Turner Stevenson each to a three-year contract, according to General Manager Bob Clarke. Per club policy, financial terms were not disclosed. Knuble and Stevenson each became Group III unrestricted free agents on July 1.
�Both are huge players, skate well and play physical,� said Clarke in making the announcement. �Knuble is the better scorer of the two and Stevenson is the more physical. They bring real good size to our forward crew.�
Knuble, 31, recorded 21 goals and 25 assists for 46 points and 32 penalty minutes in 82 regular season games for the Boston Bruins this past season. He was first on the Bruins in plus/minus at +19 and was third on the team in goals with 21. In parts of eight NHL seasons with the Detroit Red Wings, New York Rangers and Boston (1996-97 through 2003-04), Knuble has registered 101 goals and 107 assists for 208 points and 224 penalty minutes in 510 regular season games. He was a member of Detroit�s Stanley Cup Championship team in 1998 after being selected by the Red Wings in the fourth round (76th overall) of the 1991 NHL Entry Draft.
Stevenson, 32, registered 14 goals and 13 assists for 27 points and 76 penalty minutes in 61 regular season games for the New Jersey Devils this past season. He was scoreless against the Flyers in the five games of their 2004 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals series. His 14 goals this past season were a new career high for goals in a season. In 613 career NHL regular season games over parts of 12 seasons with the Montreal Canadiens and New Jersey (1992-93 through 2003-04), Stevenson has posted 186 points (74G,112A) and 924 penalty minutes. In four seasons with the Devils (2000-01 through 2003-04), the native of Prince George, British Columbia recorded 29 goals and 46 assists for 75 points and 313 penalty minutes in 228 games. He was a member of the Devils� 2003 Stanley Cup Championship team. He was originally drafted by the Canadiens in the first round (12th overall) of the 1990 NHL Entry Draft.
Both were reached by phone and commented on joining the Flyers through a team spokesman.
Mike Knuble on joining the Flyers:
�I'm happy it got done so quickly. It is sad to leave Boston. That was a great spot for me and my career. My family and I have great memories there. But to be able to jump from Boston to an immediate contender, somebody who was a game away from making the Stanley Cup finals last year, is something I hope to be in that situation when this free agency came around. I�m real happy about it.
"What I proved by playing in Boston was that I could complement good players. I could find a way to play with good players. I didn�t get a chance to show that immediately and kind of bounced around on third and fourth lines. But over the last two seasons I had a chance to play with Joe Thornton and Glen Murray a lot. They are all-star caliber players and I kind of found a way to complement what they do well. Joe is a passer and Glen is a shooter. I tried to play strong in the corners, win loose puck battles in the corners and keep the cycling a live and at the same time be very accountable defensively as well.
"I�ve played with Kim Johnsson. I played with Robert Esche at world championships. I was just turning pro with Detroit when Keith Primeau was there for a little bit. I know a few of the guys. I�ve heard nothing but great things (about the Flyers). I�ve played with guys that have been through Philadelphia, like Dan McGillis, P.J. Stock and a few other guys and they�ve spoken very highly about the team and the organization. It was a pretty easy decision for me."
Turner Stevenson on joining the Flyers:
�It�s gonna be a mixed emotions kind of thing. It was tough at first, especially being from New Jersey and being one of the team�s (the Devils) main rivals (the Flyers). I�m excited. This is another chance to win on a good team. I think I can fit in real well. The Flyers play a very similar system. Bobby Clarke stepped up and wanted me to come play here and give me the money to play here, so I�m really excited to be with the Flyers.
"My roles have changed over the years. I�ve turned into a lot better player. I�m not just the fighter-type all the time. Not that I�m getting older but I can play good defensively or play physical and hopefully I can fit right in with the physical guys they have there. Philly is one of the bigger teams in the league. I want to fit in and be another piece to the puzzle to get them to win.
"I�ve played with Mark Recchi, I played with Desjardins for a short time when I first started in Montreal. I played with Brashear for quite a long time and I played with Malakhov, it�s kind of like the Montreal connection. It seems like Philly has a lot of Montreal guys there now."
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Looks like Miss Julie just found herself another favorite Flyers player! (In addition to Eric Desjardins, Simon Gagne, and Alexei Zhamnov!) ****hugs Turner**** What a cool name! Its nice to get a former rival and bring him along for the ride.
Now back to Julie's regularly scheuduled Nascar and baseball mind already in progress.
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julie