The 33-year-old forward scored 32 points (10 goals, 22 assists) in 66 games with the New York Islanders last season and eight points (two goals, six assists) in 18 Stanley Cup Playoff games.
"I play on the wing now, but I told (general manager) Bill [Armstrong] if something happens, hopefully not, but if there are injuries or whatever, I can play center once in a while," Brassard said. "... What I like, from the goalies [out], they don't give up a lot of goals, their back end is pretty strong, and they have the No. 1 defenseman in [Oliver] Ekman-Larsson, their captain. They have a good mix of young players and veteran guys. … Up front, I see a lot of guys with good potential in the [Clayton] Kellers and the [Nick] Schmaltzes, a good mix of speed and grit and four lines that can play every night. That is what I saw in the playoffs last year, and I'm excited to be here. Hopefully, it is going to be a good fit."
Selected by the Columbus Blue Jackets with the No. 6 pick in the 2006 NHL Draft, Brassard has scored 483 points (186 goals, 297 assists) in 852 games with the Islanders, Colorado Avalanche, Florida Panthers, Pittsburgh Penguins, Ottawa Senators, New York Rangers and Blue Jackets, and 68 points (25 goals, 43 assists) in 117 NHL playoff games.
"I've always thought he has a great feel with the puck on his stick, and he makes players better around him," Armstrong said. "That's probably his best quality for me, he has that vision and feel with the puck on his stick to find the open man. I've always liked that aspect of his game, and he's going to be someone I'm excited to see play for us. He has some dimensions where he can help us produce some offense. One of the issues that we're concerned about is, where is the scoring coming from? So by adding a player who can produce some points, putting him in good situations to succeed, we'll see where he's at and where the team's at to move forward."
