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Colby Armstrong signs with ECHL Utah Grizzlies

Colby Armstrong, Cruise Armstrong,

Montreal Canadiens’ Colby Armstrong chats with his son Cruise (2) at the end of the first period of a charity hockey game in Chateauguay, Quebec, Thursday, Sept. 27, 2012. The NHL canceled the rest of the preseason Thursday, just a day before negotiations were set to resume in an effort to end the lockout. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Graham Hughes)

AP

A lot of NHL players are probably getting itchy to play some hockey thanks to the lockout and that means looking to play anywhere, even Utah.

Such is the case for new Montreal Canadiens forward Colby Armstrong as he signed a lockout deal with the ECHL’s Utah Grizzlies. He’ll join the team and begin practicing and working out with them immediately. Making things a little easier? His brother Riley is the captain there.

Seeing NHL players in the ECHL, essentially hockey’s version of AA-level baseball, isn’t anything new during the work stoppage. The Alaska Aces locked in Brandon Dubinsky, Nate Thompson, Joey Crabb, and Scott Gomez while Colorado’s Ryan O’Byrne is with the Florida Everblades.

With NHL labor talks getting serious now, you have to wonder if we might see more players taking a quick trip to the ECHL in order to get in shape for a possible shortened season.