EAST MEADOW, NY — When New York Islanders general manager Mathieu Darche signed Mitchell Chaffee to a one-year deal on July 1, he knew the player he was getting.
Chaffee, standing at 6’1 and weighing 197 lbs, spent time in the Tampa Bay Lightning organization while Darche was serving as assistant general manager, appearing in 109 NHL games between Tampa Bay and the Minnesota Wild over the first four seasons of his career.
Last season, the 28-year-old winger spent most of his time with the AHL’s Syracuse Crunch, where he set career highs with 24 goals, 33 assists and 57 points in 54 games.
He also appeared in 11 games for the Lightning, recording one assist.
Now, Chaffee is on Long Island looking to turn that opportunity into an NHL job.
With a handful of forwards battling for the final spots on the Islanders’ roster, Chaffee has put together a strong camp so far.
And head coach Pete DeBoer has liked what he’s seen.
“You know what? Just a good, solid hockey player,” DeBoer said. “I mean, I’ve watched him for a while, back to his college days. Both my sons played college hockey, and so I watched a lot of college hockey, and I remember him as a really good college hockey player.
“And then I followed his career a little bit, and he really did a good job in Tampa, at different points. He plays hard. He’s a good pro. When the puck’s on his stick, he can stick it in the net. He’s showing that at all different levels. So he’s been a real pleasure to work with.”
The Elmonters sat down with Chaffee to learn more about his game, including his time with the Islanders and more.
But first, here are the latest stories:
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Now, let’s get to our Chaffee chat: