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Jets sign Matt Hendricks for one year, $700K

Russia v USA - 2016 IIHF World Championship Ice Hockey: Bronze Medal Game

MOSCOW, RUSSIA - MAY 22: Matt Hendricks #23 of USA skates against Russia at Ice Palace on May 22, 2016 in Moscow, Russia. (Photo by Anna Sergeeva/Getty Images)

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Late-August seems to be the time of year when tryout invites go out more often than guaranteed contracts, but a full legit deals continue to trickle through.

The New Jersey Devils signed Drew Stafford for cheap, and now the Winnipeg Jets added gritty forward Matt Hendricks to a one-year, $700K contract.

Hendricks, 36, checks all the “intangible” boxes. Spoiler: the praise heaped the veteran’s way were loaded with grit terms.

The locker room factor must make the difference because, on the ice, Hendricks is extremely limited. His possession stats were lousy with Edmonton in 2016-17, and he’s never hit the 10-goal mark despite 10 seasons in the NHL.

It’s a bit maddening that none of Thomas Vanek, Jiri Hudler, P.A. Parenteau, and especially Jaromir Jagr have no takers, but obviously the Jets were looking for something different in this signing.