Devils officially sign Damien Brunner to multi-year deal

The Devils made a deal with a man named Damien on Tuesday, which may sound redundant, but actually rounds out an interesting, if not entirely convincing, crop of forwards.

New Jersey President/GM Lou Lamoriello announced on Tuesday that the club has signed forward Damien Brunner to a multi-year contract. The 27-year-old Swiss forward had been practicing and playing with the team on a tryout deal. Further terms of the contract were not released.

This deal comes after a summer when many had speculated that the lower salary cap prevented Brunner from finding a contract sooner. After leading the Swiss league in points in 2011-12, he received an opportunity to come play in the NHL with the Detroit Red Wings following the lockout, during which he played on the same team (and line, often) as Henrik Zetterberg.

Brunner put up 26 points in 44 games and nine points in 14 playoff games, but was never able to come to an agreement with Detroit during the off-season. He finally joined New Jersey -- a club he’d been rumored to be signing with during the summer -- on a tryout last Tuesday, and has already played in two pre-season games with the Devils. He registered an assist against the Islanders on Saturday.

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