TRIO OF CHAMPIONS RETURN
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – The Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday signed forward Ben Street to a one-year contract extension and defensemen Brian Lashoff and Dylan McIlrath to two-year extensions.
Street, 30, appeared in 62 games during his first season as a Griffin and ranked among the team leaders with 25 goals (2nd), 30 assists (3rd), 55 points (2nd) and 199 shots (2nd). In 19 postseason games, he finished second on the team and fourth in the league with 21 points (8-13—21) and helped Grand Rapids win the Calder Cup for the second time in the last five seasons.
The 5-foot-11, 200-pound center added one assist, a plus-one rating and eight shots in six games with the Red Wings, becoming the 163rd Griffins alumnus to play in the NHL.
A Coquitlam, British Columbia, native, Street has skated in 35 career NHL games between Calgary (2012-14), Colorado (2014-2016) and Detroit and notched three assists and eight penalty minutes. He has registered 292 career points (123-169—292) and 108 PIM in the AHL over 355 combined appearances with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (2010-12), Abbotsford (2012-14), Lake Erie (2014-15), San Antonio (2015-16) and Grand Rapids.
Lashoff, 26, notched 11 points (3-8—11) and 32 PIM in 62 games with the Griffins before chipping in four points (1-3—4) in 17 Calder Cup Playoff games. Second all time in club history in postseason games played with 68, Lashoff is one of only three players to be on both of Grand Rapids’ Calder Cup-winning teams. The 6-foot-3, 221-pound blueliner skated in five games in Detroit this season and averaged 12:30 in ice time.
In his career, Lashoff has played in 122 regular season games with the Wings over parts of four seasons (2012-15, 2016-17), totaling 13 points (2-11—13) and 57 PIM, while also appearing in eight Stanley Cup Playoff contests. Lashoff became the 126th Griffins alumnus to play in the NHL when he made his debut with the Red Wings on Jan. 21, 2013 at Columbus.
A native of Albany, N.Y., Lashoff has appeared in 330 games with the Griffins – seventh most in franchise history – since 2008-09, tallying 69 points (16-53—69) and 165 PIM and scoring 16 points (4-12—16) in the postseason.
Acquired by Detroit from the Florida Panthers on March 1 along with a third-round pick in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft in exchange for left wing Thomas Vanek, McIlrath contributed four assists and 42 PIM in 21 games with the Griffins. He added five assists, 25 PIM and tied for a team-high plus-10 rating while skating in all 19 postseason tilts and helping Grand Rapids win the Calder Cup.
The New York Rangers’ first choice, 10th overall, in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft, McIlrath has played in 43 career NHL games since 2013-14 between the Rangers and Florida Panthers, totaling five points (3-2—5) and 94 PIM while also appearing in one Stanley Cup Playoff game with New York.
The 6-foot-5, 236-pound blueliner has skated in 225 AHL regular season contests since 2010-11. Between Connecticut (2010-11, 2012-13), Hartford (2013-17), Springfield (2016-17) and Grand Rapids, McIlrath has totaled 47 points (13-34—47) and 543 PIM and added seven points (0-7—7) in 39 Calder Cup Playoff games.
The Griffins will raise their 2017 Calder Cup championship banner and begin the defense of their title on Friday, Oct. 6 at Van Andel Arena when the puck drops on the 2017-18 season with Opening Night presented by Huntington Bank. Additional home dates confirmed by the American Hockey League include Dec. 31, Jan. 20, Feb. 10, Feb. 24 and March 3.
Single-game tickets will go on sale to the public on Sept. 8. Fans can secure their full-season, select-season or group ticket packages by calling (616) 774-4585 ext. 2 or visit griffinshockey.com for more information.