SAN JOSE, California - San Jose Sharks Executive Vice President and General Manager Doug Wilson announced today that the team has signed defenseman Danny Groulx to a one-year contract. In keeping with club policy, financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Groulx, 31, spent the last two seasons playing in the KHL. He split the 2011-12 season between Minsk and Khanty-Mansiysk, where he combined to play in 24 games and posted two assists and 22 penalty minutes.

In his last season prior to competing in Russia, Groulx won the Eddie Shore Award, given to the AHL’s best defenseman, and was named to the AHL First All Star Team as a member of the Worcester Sharks, San Jose’s top development affiliate. That season, he led the league in points by a defenseman (14-52=66), which also led Worcester overall.

Since entering the professional ranks in 2002-03, Groulx has spent seven of those seasons in the American Hockey League playing for Grand Rapids, Manitoba, Hamilton, Rockford and Worcester totaling 495 regular season games played and 196 points (38-158=196). Aside from his time in Russia, he also spent the 2005-06 season playing for Kassel of the German Elite League.

The six-foot, 205-pound native of LaSalle, Quebec was originally signed as free agent by Detroit on Aug. 12, 2002.