Scott Gomez is officially a Devil once again.
Gomez, who joined New Jersey during the preseason and has been practicing with the team ever since, agreed to a contract on Monday “because of the center situation,” per GM Lou Lamoriello.
The situation, you ask? Injuries to Travis Zajac and Adam Henrique, both of whom will miss the club’s upcoming road trip to Pittsburgh and Toronto. Forwards Martin Havlat and Ryane Clowe are also shelved with ailments, which has resulted in the Devils icing a makeshift lineup of:
Patrik Elias-Scott Gomez-Jaromir Jagr
Damien Brunner-Mike Cammalleri-Michael Ryder
Tuomo Ruutu-Jacob Josefson-Steve Bernier
Jordin Tootoo-Stephen Gionta-Dainius Zubrus
As alluded to in the headline, Gomez ain’t making the Devils any younger. New Jersey came into this season with the NHL’s oldest team -- an average age of 31.0 -- and the 34-year-old Gomez will bump that up a bit.
Gomez, who won two Cups during his eight-year (1999-2007) stint in New Jersey, also becomes the seventh Devils player born in the 70s, joining Jagr, Elias, Zubrus, Bryce Salvador, Marek Zidlicky and Scott Clemmensen.
Updated: Contract details, per Sportsnet...Scott Gomez signed a two-way deal with #njdevils. He’ll get $550,000 in the NHL and $100,000 in the AHL.
— Chris Johnston (@reporterchris) December 1, 2014