This one flew very low under the Montreal Canadiens radar on Monday, when several roster moves were made on the club. On the same day the Canadiens acquired defenseman T.J. Kemp from the Wilkes – Barre / Scranton Penguins and assigned him to the Bulldogs, they signed former Dallas Stars forward, and son of Bob Gainey, Steve, to a professional tryout contract with their farm club.
In making the moves, the Bulldogs reassigned a pair of players, J.T. Wyman and Frederic St. Denis to their ECHL affiliate Cincinnati Cyclones.
Gainey, son, is a former third round pick of the Stars, who has also played briefly with the Phoenix Coyotes in 2005. He has spent time with both the Philadelphia Flyers and Vancouver Canucks organizations, and was playing this season with the Idaho Steelheads of the ECHL. In 30 games, the 6 foot, 180 pound winger had notched 11-19-30 totals.
Gainey had been out of hockey for two seasons, and it was believed he was retired and attending school in England the past two seasons.
A former Kamloops Blazer from 1995 to 1999, Gainey spent last season with the WHL club as an assistant coach.
In his debut with the Bulldogs on Tuesday, Gainey scored the eventual game winner for Hamilton, whacking away at Thomas Beauregard rebound. He was named the game’s second star.
The NHL’s Legend’s Of Hockey bio on Gainey has this to say about his career up until 2005:
Steve Gainey was born January 26, 1979 in Montreal, Quebec. The third round, 77th overall selection of the Dallas Stars in the 1997 NHL Entry Draft, Gainey who is the son of former Montreal Canadiens captain and Hall of Famer Bob Gainey, is a graduate of the WHL’s Kamloops Blazers.
A hard-working forward, Gainey played four seasons in Kamloops tallying 151 points (61-90-151) in 245 games before making his professional debut in 1999-00. In his first pro season, Gainey spent the majority of the year with the Stars IHL affiliate in Michigan, while seeing action in one game with the UHL’s Fort Wayne Komets. In 2000-01, Gainey made his NHL debut with the Stars, while spending the better part of the year with the team’s IHL affiliate in Utah. Over the course of the next three seasons, Gainey was a mainstay with the Utah Grizzlies, while seeing limited action with Dallas.
In February of 2004 Gainey was acquired by the Philadelphia Flyers, however due to a lock out he would not suit up for the club. Following a season in France, Gainey was signed as a free agent by the Phoenix Coyotes and would split the 2005-06 season with Coyotes and their AHL affiliate in San Antonio.
