Former player David Rutherford returns to Belfast Giants for rest of season

David Rutherford has come out of retirement to rejoin Belfast Giants.

The Canadian forward has re-signed for the Giants following the departure of Matt Bissonnette for personal reasons.

Head Coach Adam Keefe has convinced his former team-mate to return to Belfast as the Giants prepare for a run of 10 games on the road.

Rutherford, 30, had moved home to Canada following the end of the 2016/17 season after helping the Giants to a spot in the playoff finals.

"When the opportunity came up to bring David Rutherford back to Belfast - the decision was pretty simple," Keefe said.

"He has already won championships in his career and he will play a huge part down the stretch this season.

"David has put up good numbers in Belfast over the last two years and and I know our fans will love seeing him in a Giants jersey once again."

Rutherford scoring a goal for the Giants against the Nottingham Panthers last season

Rutherford, who first joined the Giants from the Edinburgh Capitals in 2016, scored 22 goals and provided 35 assists during his initial spell in Belfast.

His first appearance will be at a testimonial game for Colin Shields on Tuesday, 21 November at The SSE Arena, Belfast and the forward will go straight into the Giants lineup this weekend for back-to-back road games against Coventry and Cardiff on Saturday and Sunday respectively.