By Jared Clinton (@JPDClinton)
After a two-year absence, Joakim Lindstrom is heading back to North America.
The St. Louis Blues announced earlier today that the now-30-year-old Lindstrom, a second round pick of the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2002, has signed a one-year deal with the team.
Lindstrom made his American Hockey League debut in 2004-05, the NHL’s lost season. The shifty winger potted four goals to go along with four assists in his 13 games with the Crunch in ’04-’05, and would stay with the Blue Jackets organization for three seasons before signing a deal with the Phoenix Coyotes.
An impact player at the AHL level — nearly a point per game with 73 goals and 109 assists in 200 AHL games — Lindstrom was an AHL All-Star in 2007-08, the year before he signed his deal with the Coyotes. Following a difficult season in which he bounced between the NHL and AHL, Lindstrom left North America, signing a one-year deal with the KHL’s Nizhny Novgorod.
Lindstrom returned to the NHL for 16 games in 2011-12, appearing in 16 games for the Colorado Avalanche. However, a clause in Lindstrom’s contract allowed for the forward to be released and return to Sweden.
In his last AHL stint, Lindstrom tallied 23 points (8-15) in 24 games.
American Hockey Blog 