While the Montreal Canadiens didn’t advance very far in the
playoffs, its farm team in the AHL, the Laval Rocket, reached the semifinals of
the Calder Cup. The young group made a deep run backed by a few experienced
veterans who guided them through the choppy waters of a Cup quest. One of those
veterans was 27-year-old Repentigny native Brandon Gignac, who had been with
the organization for the last four seasons, and will leave it with the memories
of a deep playoff run.
The left-shot center announced yesterday that he has signed
a two-year deal with EHC Kloten, the former team of blueliner David Reinbacher,
in Switzerland. Gignac was drafted in the third round of the 2016 NHL Draft by
the New Jersey Devils, but was only able to play a single game with them in the
NHL.
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He played 127 games with their AHL affiliate before being
sent down to the ECHL. He didn’t receive a qualifying offer from the Devils in
the Summer of 2021 and joined the Canadiens’ organization as a free agent then.
In his four years in the Habs’ system, he played 173 games in the AHL, picking
up 120 points in the process. He’s third in all-time scoring with the Rocket
behind Alex Belzile with 130 points and Rafael Harvey-Pinard, who has 126.
Gignac also played seven games with the Tricolore during the
2023-24 season, scoring his first and only career goal in the NHL. He dealt
with an injury that prevented him from playing all but 15 games with the Rocket
this year, and he didn’t receive any call-up, which is understandable in such
circumstances.
The center felt the AHL was as high as he would get in North
American hockey and decided to try his luck in another pro league overseas.
Kloten, his new team, finished seventh in the standings last season in a
14-team Swiss A league.
Photo credit: Jamie Germano/Rochester Democrat and Chronicle / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
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