Senators Re-Sign Chris Kelly

[Thrillhouse]

OTTAWA – Ottawa Senators general manager John Muckler today announced the re-signing of centre Chris Kelly to a one-year agreement.

In his first full season with the Senators and in the NHL, Kelly was one of five players on the team to play in all 82 regular-season games. He had 10 goals, 20 assists and 76 penalty minutes. Kelly scored his first NHL goal on the Toronto Maple Leafs’ Mikael Tellqvist in an 8-0 win on Oct. 29. The Toronto native scoreed two game-winning goals, tied for first in the NHL with teammate Chris Phillips for short-handed assists (6) and was second among all NHL rookies in plus-minus rankings at +21.

In 86 career games with Ottawa, the 25-year-old centre has recorded 10 goals, 20 assists, 30 points and 76 penalty minutes.

Drafted 94th overall by the Senators in 1999, Kelly played most of his first three pro seasons with the club’s American Hockey League affiliate in Binghamton. He captained the squad in 2004-05, registering AHL career totals of 208 games, 56 goals, 69 assists and 170 points.