Devils sign Clowe to five-year deal

Newark, NJ – The New Jersey Devils signed big right winger Ryane Clowe on Friday.

Terms of the contract were not officially announced, but it is reported to be a five-year deal and will carry an annual cap hit of $4.85 million.

Clowe is coming off a disappointing season in which he scored three goals over 40 regular season games with San Jose and the New York Rangers. The 6-foot-2, 225-pound winger also posted 16 assists during his split season with the Sharks and Rangers.

Clowe, a sixth-round pick by San Jose in 2001, added one helper in two playoff games for New York, but saw his postseason end due to a concussion suffered against Washington on May 10. It was the second concussion he sustained during his short stint with the Rangers.

The 30-year-old is a two-time 20-goal scorer and registered a career-high with 24 markers for the Sharks in 2010-11. All told, Clowe has 104 goals, 175 assists and 279 points over 435 games.

Also, the team signed forward Rostislav Olesz on Friday.

He spent last season with Rockford of the American Hockey League, which is Chicago's minor league team. With the IceHogs, the 27-year-old totaled seven goals and 12 assists in 14 games.

Over seven seasons in the NHL, six with Florida and one with Chicago, he has notched 57 goals and 75 assists in 355 games.