Florida Everblades announce signing of Brian Rafalski

January 9, 2014January 30, 2014 MiHockey Staff

Rafalski 608 — Dearborn native and former Red Wings defenseman Brian Rafalski has signed with the ECHL's Florida Everblades. (Photo by Jen Hefner/MiHockey)

By Michael Caples –

The ECHL’s Florida Everblades announced today that they have signed former Red Wings defenseman Brian Rafalski to a contract.

Rafalski, now 40 years old, retired from professional hockey after the conclusion of the Red Wings’ 20-2011 season.

“I’m just excited to get back on the ice again and see where God takes me on this journey,” the Dearborn native said in a release from the ECHL club.

Playing in the ECHL will be Rafalski’s first taste of non-NHL hockey on North American soil since 1995; the Stanley Cup winner with the New Jersey Devils and Detroit Red Wings played college hockey at Wisconsin before playing pro hockey in Europe and finding his way into the NHL as a free agent. He never played in the AHL or ECHL before regular duty at the game’s highest level.

Rafalski has played in 833 NHL games, recording 79 goals and 436 assists, along with a career +178 rating.

The Everblades are an ECHL club owned by Detroit native Peter Karmanos Jr. They are affiliated with the NHL’s Carolina Hurricanes (also owned by Karmanos) and the Tampa Bay Lightning, along with the AHL’s Syracuse Crunch and Charlotte Checkers.