TAMPA, Fla. - The Tampa Bay Lightning have added some depth to their young blueline.
The NHL team signed free-agent defenceman Marek Malik to a one-year contract on Wednesday. The 33-year-old joins a Tampa defence that currently features five players who are 25 or under. Malik spent the last three seasons with the New York Rangers and is a veteran of 649 NHL games.
"We are thrilled to have signed Marek to a contract," Lightning GM Brian Lawton said in a statement. "He is a big body ... that will add to our overall defensive play and give us veteran leadership on the blue-line."
The six-foot-five Malik appeared in 42 games with the Rangers last season, scoring two goals and recording 10 points with a plus-7 rating. He's also played for Hartford, Carolina and Vancouver.
Malik won a bronze medal with the Czech Republic at the 2006 Olympics.