American winger Zach Sanford, 30, has signed a one-year contract with HC Lugano, the National League club announced on Monday.

After a nine-year pro career in North America, this is Sanford’s first contract to play in Europe.

“Zach Sanford brings a lot of experience to our team – he’s a very versatile forward that can play on the wing and at center,” said Lugano GM Janick Steinmann. “He’s also used to playing different roles on the power play and is strong on the penalty kill. He will bring our team lots of stability and quality in all aspects of the game. The coaches will have lots of different options down the line up. I’m very happy that Zach decided to join our club and help our team this season.”

A native of Salem, Mass., Sanford was a second-round pick, 61st overall, of the Washington Capitals in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft. After a year in the USHL and then two years at Boston College, he signed with Washington in 2016.

RUMOR CONFIRMED: Jan Rutta Signs Multi-Year Deal In Switzerland Czech defenseman Jan Rutta, 35, has signed a two-year contract with Genève-Servette, the National League club announced on Monday.

Between 2016 and 2024, Sanford played 334 NHL regular-season games for the Capitals, St. Louis Blues, Ottawa Senators, Winnipeg Jets, Nashville Predators, Arizona Coyotes and Chicago Blackhawks, recording 104 points and 144 penalty minutes. He also had eight points in 25 playoff games – all for St. Louis – and was a member of the Blues’ 2019 Stanley Cup championship team.

He spent the entire 2024-25 season in the AHL for the Rockford IceHogs, where he tallied 51 points in 77 regular-season and playoff games.

Sanford joins a Lugano team that is trying to rebuild its roster after missing the playoffs last season. The team has also added former NHLers Rasmus Kupari, Connor Carrick and Brendan Perlinithis off-season.

Former First-Rounder Rasmus Kupari Signs In Switzerland Finnish forward Rasmus Kupari, 25, has signed a two-year contract with HC Lugano, the National League club announced on Tuesday.

Czech defenseman Jan Rutta is about to sign with Genève-Servette of Switzerland’s National League, according to a Swiss media report.

Gregory Beaud reports that his media outlet Blick has information that indicates the deal is imminent. No details about the length of the contract are mentioned, other than “for the upcoming season.”

If correct, it would mean a return to Europe after eight years in the NHL for the 35-year-old. Rutta has 98 points and 219 penalty minutes in 417 NHL regular-season games with the Chicago Blackhawks, Tampa Bay Lightning, Pittsburgh Penguins and San Jose Sharks. He also has 11 points in 49 playoff games and is a two-time Stanley Cup champion with Tampa Bay.

Earlier this off-season, Blick reported that Jesse Puljujärvi was on his way to Switzerland.Two weeks later, the Finnish winger indeed signed with the same Genève-Servette team.

CONFIRMED: Jesse Puljujärvi Signs Multi-Year Contract in Switzerland Finnish winger Jesse Puljujärvi, 27, has signed a two-year contract with Genève-Servette, the National League club announced on Tuesday.

According to the report, Genève-Servette sports director Marc Gautschi has said that he wants to start the upcoming season with seven import players. The club already has under contract for the 2025-26 season Finns Puljujärvi, Markus Granlund, Sakari Manninen and Vili Saarijärvi, Canadian Taylor Beck and American Jimmy Vesey.

Genève-Servette team won its first-ever national championship in Switzerland in 2023-24 after a century of existance and then won the Champions Hockey League in 2024-25, but has missed the playoffs the last two National League seasons. 

Jan Rutta grilled by Swedish media after semifinal; suspended for finalThe Czechs will play for the gold medal on home ice in Prague but they’ll do so without defenseman Jan Rutta, who has been suspended one game by the IIHF World Championship Disciplinary Panel for an elbow to the head of Swedish forward Isac Lundeström.

Canadian winger Josh Leivo, 32, has signed a one-year contract with Traktor Chelyabinsk, the KHL website announced on Monday.

The news comes just five days after Leivo’s contract with rival KHL club Salavat Yulaev Ufa was terminated – visa and club financial issues were cited. This past season, Leivo set a KHL record with 49 goals in 62 regular-season games. He finished the season with a league-leading 80 points and was rewarded with the league’s MVP award and what turned out to be a short-lived two-year contract extension.

“As has already been said, if a player of Josh Leivo’s caliber enters the market, the club needs to react immediately,” said Traktor GM Alexei Volkov. “Over the past two seasons in the KHL, he has become a real star of the league, breaking what seemed to be Sergei Mozyakin’s eternal record and winning the MVP title at the end of the 2024-25 regular season.

“It can be said without a shadow of a doubt that Josh is a real scoring machine,” Volkov described. “His shot can be called elite, his one-timer on the power play and, as they say, is a difference-maker. He feels comfortable against any opponent and any defensive line. We are confident that Leivo will quickly adapt to our friendly team and will write his name in its glorious history.”

A native of Innisfil, Ont. who played junior hockey for the OHL’s Sudbury Wolves and Kitchener Rangers, Leivo was picked in the third round of the 2011 NHL Entry Draft by the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Former NHL First-Rounder Mikhail Grigorenko Changes KHL Teams Russian forward Mikhail Grigorenko has signed a two-year contract with Traktor Chelyabinsk, the KHL club announced on Friday.

Leivo played 265 NHL games between 2013 and 2023 for the Leafs, Vancouver Canucks, Calgary Flames, Carolina Hurricanes and St. Louis Blues, recording 93 points and 93 penalty minutes. In 2022, he won a Calder Cup championship with the AHL’s Chicago Wolves, leading the playoffs with 29 points in 18 games and winning the playoff MVP award.

In two KHL seasons, Leivo now has 142 points in 122 regular-season and playoff games.

Traktor had the best record in the KHL this past regular season but lost in the Gagarin Cup finals to Lokomotiv Yaroslavl in five games, so there has to be a feeling that this move could put the team over the top.

In addition to Leivo, the club’s roster includes ex-NHLers Mikhail Grigorenko, Vladimir Zharkov, Jordan Gross and goaltender Chris Driedger. It also has NHL prospects Semyon Der-Arguchintsev (Toronto), Alexander Rykov (Carolina) and Arseni Koromyslov (St. Louis).

Former NHL Goalie Chris Driedger Signs In KHL Canadian goaltender Chris Driedger, 31, has signed a one-year contract with Traktor Chelyabinsk, the KHL club announced on Tuesday.

Czech defenseman Jakub Zbořil, 28, has signed a one-year contract with HC Vítkovice Ridera, the Czech Extraliga club recently announced.

The signing came just 10 months after Zbořil signed a five-year contract with rival Extraliga club Dynamo Pardubice last October. However, Zbořil and Pardubice mutually agreed to terminate the contract after just one season, in which Zbořil recorded 19 points in 46 regular-season and playoff games.

“Jakub is a modern defenseman with excellent skating, an excellent overview of the game and toughness in 1-on-1 battles,” said Vítkovice coach and former NHL player Václav Varaďa. “He has experience from the NHL, AHL and the national team, which will be useful in our young squad.”

Describing Zbořil as a player, Varaďa said, “He can handle difficult moments of the game. I believe that he will help the team on and off the ice and he will quickly win the hearts of our fans.”

Zbořil was born in Brno, Czechia and grew up in the ranks of Kometa Brno, where he played youth and junior hockey before going overseas at age 17 to play for the QMJHL’s Saint John Sea Dogs.

He was chosen in the first round, 13th overall, by the Boston Bruins in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft. From 2017 until March of 2024, he played in the Bruins organization, splitting time between Boston and the club’s AHL farm team in Providence. In 76 NHL games, Zbořil scored one goal and added 15 assists and 28 penalty minutes.

Jakub Lauko Returns Home To Czechia On Multi-Year DealCzech forward Jakub Lauko, 25, has signed a three-year contract with Dynamo Pardubice, the Czech Extraliga club announced on Friday.

At the 2023-24 trading deadline, Zbořil was dealt to the Columbus Blue Jackets but finished the season in the minors.

Prior to last season, Zbořil’s only career Extraliga games occurred during the 2020-21 season, where he suited up with Kometa for 18 games before the start of the pandemic-delayed NHL training camp.

Internationally, Zbořil represented Czechia at two IIHF U-18 World Championships, two World Junior Championships and the 2023 World Championship.

In 2024-25, Vítkovice finished 12th out of 14 Extraliga teams. In 2025-26,the team has under contract Slovak national team regulars Marek Hrivík and Samuel Kňažko, Ralfs Friebergs of the Latvian national team, Krzysztof Maciaś of the Polish national team, French national team defenseman and former NHLer Yohann Auvitu and 21-year-old Edmonton Oilers prospect Petr Hauser.

INTERVIEW: David Pastrňák Looking Forward To First Game Against Marchand David Pastrňák spends his summers in Europe – he, his Swedish wife and their daughter split their time between Sweden and his home country in Czechia.

Russian defenseman Nikolai Goldobin, 29, has been claimed off KHL waivers by SKA St. Petersburg, the KHL website announced on Monday. He had been waived by Spartak Moscow, the club for which he’d played the past two seasons.

Born in Moscow, Goldobin went overseas at age 16 to play junior hockey for the OHL’s Sarnia Sting. He became a first-round pick of the San Jose Sharks in the 2014 NHL Entry Draft, selected 27th overall.

Goldobin spent most of the 2014-15 season playing in Finland for HIFK Helsinki before signing with the Sharks late in the season and moving to the AHL’s San Jose Barracuda.

Between 2015 and 2019, Goldobin played 125 NHL games for the Sharks and Vancouver Canucks, recording 46 points and 24 penalty minutes. In February 2017, he was traded from San Jose to Vancouver for Danish winger Jannik Hansen.

Ex-Canuck Nikita Tryamkin Signs 3-Year Contract Extension In KHL Russian defenseman Nikita Tryamkin, 30, has signed a three-year contract extension with Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg that will run through the end of the 2027-28 season, the KHL club announced recently.

Goldobin has spent the past five seasons in the KHL playing for CSKA Moscow, Metallurg Magnitogorsk and Spartak, recording 277 points in 339 regular-season and playoff games.

A perennial powerhouse in the KHL, last season SKA finished a disappointing seventh in the Western Conference and was eliminated in the first round of the playoffs despite a star-studded lineup that included Ivan Demidov, Alexander Nikishin, Mikhail Grigorenko, Evgeny Kuznetsov, Arseni Gritsyuk, Nikita Zaitsev and Tony DeAngelo.

Heading into 2025-26, only Zaitsev remains from that group. The team has replaced coach Roman Rotenberg with Igor Larionov and added center Igor Larionov Jr. and North Americans Rocco Grimaldi Trevor Murphy, Brennan Menell and Joey Blandisi, who have some NHL experience.

Alexander Burmistrov & Adam Clendening Latest To Sign With Chinese KHL Team Ever since a major rebranding a week ago, the Shanghai Dragons have hired a high-profile head coach and signed 14 new players, including several ex-NHLers. On Saturday, five new signings were announced, including Russian center Alexander Burmistrov and the re-signing of American defenseman Adam Clendening. Rocco Grimaldi Will Play For Igor Larionov In KHL American forward Rocco Grimaldi, 32, has signed a two-year contract with SKA St. Petersburg, the KHL announced on Wednesday.

Ever since a major rebranding a week ago, the Shanghai Dragons have hired a high-profile head coach and signed 14 new players, including several ex-NHLers. On Saturday, five new signings were announced, including Russian center Alexander Burmistrov and the re-signing of American defenseman Adam Clendening.

Other players announced on Saturday include Croatian winger Borna Rendulić, 32, who played 15 NHL games with the Colorado Avalanche and Vancouver Canucks, Russian winger Vladimir Kuznetsov and Russian goaltender Andrei Tikhomirov.

“Burmistrov is a talented, fast center who excels in the faceoff circle and brings important contributions on the penalty kill,” said Dragons CEO Igor Varitsky.

Originally from Kazan, Tatarstan, Burmistrov, now 27, came up through the local Ak Bars club, playing one KHL game with the team in 2007-08, and then spent one season with the OHL’s Barrie Colts. He was chosen eighth overall by the Atlanta Thrashers in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft.

Between 2010 and 2013, he spent three seasons with the Thrashers and Winnipeg Jets franchise, then returned to Russia in 2013. Burmistrov then returned to North America in 2015 and played for the Jets, Arizona Coyotes and Canucks before returning again in 2018.

Burmistrov had 101 points and 139 penalty minutes in 348 NHL games. He also has 170 points in 492 KHL regular-season and playoff games with Ak Bars, Salavat Yulaev Ufa, Metallurg Magnitogorsk, Spartak Moscow and Dynamo Moscow. After not playing the first half of last season, he only played eight games last season for Dynamo, going pointless.

Internationally, Burmistrov played for Russia in two IIHF World Championships, winning a gold medal in 2014 in Minsk and a bronze at home in Moscow in 2016.

Alexander Burmistrov Signs With Dynamo Moscow Russian center Alexander Burmistrov, 33, has signed a contract to play the remainder of the current season with Dynamo Moscow, the KHL club announced recently.

“Clendening brings valuable NHL experience and plays an important role both defensively and on the power play,” said Varitsky. “We consider him one of our leaders, and last season he showed he has the ability to guide his teammates on and off the ice.”

Clendening, 32, was born in Niagara Falls, N.Y. and became a pro via the U.S. National Team Development Program and Boston University. He was selected in the second round, 36th overall, by the Chicago Blackhawks in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft.

Between 2014 and 2019, Clendening played 90 NHL regular-season games for the Blackhawks, Canucks, Pittsburgh Penguins, Edmonton Oilers, Coyotes and Columbus Blue Jackets, recording 24 points and 42 penalty minutes. The last NHL games he ever played were seven playoff games for Columbus in 2019, picking up one assist and one minor penalty.

Clendening spent the 2023-24 season in Finland with Ilves Tampere and last season in the KHL with Kunlun, recording 22 points and 65 penalty minutes in 61 games.

Internationally, Clendening won two gold medals for the USA at the U-18 World Championships and a bronze at the 2021 Worlds in Riga.

Gerard Gallant Takes Over KHL’s Shanghai Dragons Gerard Gallant is the new head coach of the Shanghai Dragons, the KHL club announced on Wednesday.

A busy week just keeps getting busier for the Chinese-based KHL club, which was previously known as Kunlun Red Star.

On Monday, defenseman Jake Chelios announced his retirement. On Wednesday, the club announced the signing of new head coach Gerard Gallant, and on Friday and Saturday, the club announced the signings of nine new players, including Slovak Olympic bronze-medal-winning goaltender Patrik Rybar and Canadian forwards Ryan Spooner and Nick Merkley.

The Kunlun-Shanghai franchise has played its home games in suburban Moscow since early 2020 and will play in St. Petersburg this season, but plans to return to China in either 2026 or 2027.

The team has not made the playoffs since its inaugural KHL season in 2016-17.

Ex-NHLers Spooner & Merkley Sign With Shanghai Canadian former NHL forwards Ryan Spooner and Nick Merkley have signed one-year contracts to play for the Shanghai Dragons, the Chinese-based KHL club announced on Saturday.

Canadian former NHL forwards Ryan Spooner and Nick Merkley have signed one-year contracts to play for the Shanghai Dragons, the Chinese-based KHL club announced on Saturday.

Also signed on Saturday were goaltender goaltender Andrei Kareyev, defenseman Doyle Somberby and forward Nikita Popugayev.

“Ryan Spooner is no stranger to the KHL and his strengths are well known: elite skating, speed, hockey IQ and a team-first mentality,” said Dragons CEO Igor Varitsky. “He can ignite the offense and move the puck deep into the offensive zone, contributing both at even strength and on the power play.”

Spooner, 33, was chosen in the second round, 45th overall, by the Boston Bruins in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft. Between 2012 and 2019, he played 325 NHL regular season games for the Bruins, New York Rangers, Edmonton Oilers and Vancouver Canucks, recording 167 points and 63 penalty minutes. He also had two points in four playoff games for Boston in 2017.

Since 2019, he’s played in the KHL for all but two games for HC Lugano in Switzerland. He has 271 points in 336 KHL regular-season and playoff games for Dinamo Minsk and Avangard Omsk.

2015 first-rounder Nick Merkley signs with KHL’s Avtomobilist YekaterinburgCanadian forward Nick Merkley, 27, has signed a two-year contract with Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg, the KHL club recently announced. For the past two seasons, Merkley played for Dinamo Minsk, the KHL’s Belarusian-based club.

“As for Nick Merkley, he is a skilled right-handed forward with speed and a scorer’s touch,” said Varitsky.

Merkley, 28, was drafted 30th overall in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft by the Arizona Coyotes.

Between 2017 and 2022, Merkley recorded 15 points in 41 NHL games for the Coyotes, New Jersey Devils and San Jose Sharks. He also had 13 points in 19 games for Finnish Liiga club Ässät Pori early in the 2020-21 season before the NHL belatedly commenced its season amid Covid restrictions.

Over the past three KHL seasons for Dinamo Minsk and Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg, Merkley has 101 points in 209 regular-season and playoff games.

Jake Chelios Retires From Chinese KHL Team Defenseman Jake Chelios, 34, has announced his retirement via video on the Instagram page of the Chinese-based KHL club that he’s played for the past six seasons.

It’s been a busy week for the Chinese-based KHL club, which was previously known as Kunlun Red Star but is undergoing a major rebranding.

On Monday, defenseman Jake Chelios announced his retirement. On Wednesday, the club announced the signing of new head coach Gerard Gallant, and on Friday the club announced the signings of five other players, including Slovak Olympic bronze-medal-winning goaltender Patrik Rybar.

The Kunlun-Shanghai franchise has played its home games in suburban Moscow since early 2020 and will play in St. Petersburg this season, but plans to return to China in either 2026 or 2027.

Gerard Gallant Takes Over KHL’s Shanghai Dragons Gerard Gallant is the new head coach of the Shanghai Dragons, the KHL club announced on Wednesday.

Canadian former NHL forwards Ryan Spooner and Nick Merkley have signed one-year contracts to play for the Shanghai Dragons, the Chinese-based KHL club announced on Saturday.

Also signed on Saturday were goaltender goaltender Andrei Kareyev, defenseman Doyle Somberby and forward Nikita Popugayev.

“Ryan Spooner is no stranger to the KHL and his strengths are well known: elite skating, speed, hockey IQ and a team-first mentality,” said Dragons CEO Igor Varitsky. “He can ignite the offense and move the puck deep into the offensive zone, contributing both at even strength and on the power play.”

Spooner, 33, was chosen in the second round, 45th overall, by the Boston Bruins in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft. Between 2012 and 2019, he played 325 NHL regular season games for the Bruins, New York Rangers, Edmonton Oilers and Vancouver Canucks, recording 167 points and 63 penalty minutes. He also had two points in four playoff games for Boston in 2017.

Since 2019, he’s played in the KHL for all but two games for HC Lugano in Switzerland. He has 271 points in 336 KHL regular-season and playoff games for Dinamo Minsk and Avangard Omsk.

2015 first-rounder Nick Merkley signs with KHL’s Avtomobilist YekaterinburgCanadian forward Nick Merkley, 27, has signed a two-year contract with Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg, the KHL club recently announced. For the past two seasons, Merkley played for Dinamo Minsk, the KHL’s Belarusian-based club.

“As for Nick Merkley, he is a skilled right-handed forward with speed and a scorer’s touch,” said Varitsky.

Merkley, 28, was drafted 30th overall in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft by the Arizona Coyotes.

Between 2017 and 2022, Merkley recorded 15 points in 41 NHL games for the Coyotes, New Jersey Devils and San Jose Sharks. He also had 13 points in 19 games for Finnish Liiga club Ässät Pori early in the 2020-21 season before the NHL belatedly commenced its season amid Covid restrictions.

Over the past three KHL seasons for Dinamo Minsk and Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg, Merkley has 101 points in 209 regular-season and playoff games.

Jake Chelios Retires From Chinese KHL Team Defenseman Jake Chelios, 34, has announced his retirement via video on the Instagram page of the Chinese-based KHL club that he’s played for the past six seasons.

It’s been a busy week for the Chinese-based KHL club, which was previously known as Kunlun Red Star but is undergoing a major rebranding.

On Monday, defenseman Jake Chelios announced his retirement. On Wednesday, the club announced the signing of new head coach Gerard Gallant, and on Friday the club announced the signings of five other players, including Slovak Olympic bronze-medal-winning goaltender Patrik Rybar.

The Kunlun-Shanghai franchise has played its home games in suburban Moscow since early 2020 and will play in St. Petersburg this season, but plans to return to China in either 2026 or 2027.

Gerard Gallant Takes Over KHL’s Shanghai Dragons Gerard Gallant is the new head coach of the Shanghai Dragons, the KHL club announced on Wednesday.

Canadian goaltender Olivier Rodrigue, 25, has signed a one-year contract with Barys Astana, the Kazakhstan-based KHL club announced on Thursday.

This will be Rodrigue’s second time playing for an overseas club following a 23-game stint with the Graz 99ers in Austria in 2020-21 when the start of the AHL season was delayed by pandemic-related restrictions.

Born in Saguenay, Que., Rodrigue played junior hockey for the QMJHL’s Drummondville Voltigeurs and Moncton Wildcats. He was chosen in the second round, 62nd overall, by the Edmonton Oilers in the 2018 NHL Entry Draft.

Since 2021, Rodrigue has played almost entirely with the Bakersfield Condors, the Oilers’ farm club, but he did play two NHL games in 2024-25 – one relief appearance and one start – recording an .867 save percentage, 3.10 goals-against average, and was charged with one loss.

This summer, Rodrigue remained third in Edmonton’s depth chart behind Stuart Skinner and Calvin Pickard and, with the Oilers still looking to upgrade their goaltending, Rodrigue no longer figured in their plans.

Another Goalie Moves From NHL To KHL Canadian goaltender Louis Domingue, 33, has signed a one-year contract with Sibir Novosibirsk, the KHL club announced on Thursday.

Internationally, Rodrigue played for Canada at the 2018 IIHF U-18 World Championship and he won a gold medal with Canada at the 2020 World Juniors although he didn’t appear in a game as the third goalie behind Joel Hofer and Nico Daws.

Rodrigue joins a Barys team that has missed the playoffs three straight years. He will probably form a tandem with Kazakh national team goalie Andrei Shutov.

Last season, Barys started the season with several import players but, after a terrible start to the season, the club released Michael McLeod, Nathan Beaulieu, Will Butcher, Chase De Leo and Alex Grant within the space of a couple weeks. The team finished last in the KHL’s Eastern Conference.

Barys Astana Terminates Contracts of Nathan Beaulieu, Will Butcher, Michael McLeodKazakhtan-based KHL club Barys Astana announced the release of three NHL players on its roster on Friday. 

Gerard Gallant is the new head coach of the Shanghai Dragons, the KHL club announced on Wednesday.

Gallant, who has coached over 700 NHL games and was last behind the bench of the New York Rangers in 2022-23, has been rumored to be headed to the KHL for several weeks, although the exact team was unknown.

“As it turned out, Gallant emerged as the clear choice, meeting every single one of team’s criteria,” Dragons CEO Sergey Belykh is quoted in the club’s announcement. “We reached out to him outlining the club’s vision and key objectives.”

Established in 2016, the Shanghai Dragons were known up until last season as Kunlun Red Star – ostensibly a Chinese-based team, although they haven’t played a game in China since early 2020. The team has been a league doormat almost since its inception – making the playoffs in 2016-17 when it had no import quota but has since missed the playoffs for eight straight years.

Since 2020, the Kunlun-Shanghai franchise has played its home games in the Moscow area and will play this season in St. Petersburg. However, according to the club’s announcement, they would like to return to China in 2026-27, or 2027-28 at the latest.

Ukrainian-Born Ex-Leaf Heads Back To KHLUkrainian-born Swedish winger Dmytro Timashov, 28, has signed a two-year contract with Admiral Vladivostok, several Swedish media outlets have reported.

To that end, the Dragons seem to have high expectations for Gallant.

“We understood that building a strong team usually takes more than one season,” said Belykh. “Unfortunately, we don’t have that kind of time. That’s why the Dragons needed not just an experienced, high-profile head coach, but a specialist capable of building a competitive team in the shortest possible time.”

Belykh seems to expect Gallant to pull of similar magic that he did in the NHL with the Vegas Golden Knights in 2017-18, leading the first-year team to a Pacific Division title and the Stanley Cup final.

So far, the Dragons have under contract for 2025-26 goaltender Jeremy Smith and brothers Spencer and Parker Foo, who were all naturalized Chinese citizens through playing for Kunlun and represented China at the 2022 Winter Olympics. The team also has 24-year-old Winnipeg Jets prospect Austin Wong. Defenseman Jake Chelios, another naturalized Chinese citizen, announced his retirement just days ago.

Jake Chelios Retires From Chinese KHL Team Defenseman Jake Chelios, 34, has announced his retirement via video on the Instagram page of the Chinese-based KHL club that he’s played for the past six seasons.

Last season, the club’s roster also included ex-NHLers Nail Yakupov, Tomáš Jurčo, Brandon Yip, Adam Clendenning, Tyler Graovac, Rourke Chartier and Ryan Merkley.

The team’s previous coaches have included Mikhail Kravets, Greg Ireland, Ivano Zanatta, Alexei Kovalev, Curt Fraser, Bobby Carpenter and Mike Keenan.

Gallant, 61, played 11 seasons in the NHL for the Detroit Red Wings and Tampa Bay Lightning from 1984 to 1995. He has coached in the NHL for the Columbus Blue Jackets, Florida Panthers, Knights and Rangers, compiling a regular-season record of 369 wins, 262 losses and four ties.

Craig Ramsay Out As Coach Of SlovakiaHockey Slovakia has decided to change the head coach of its men’s national team. Out is Canadian Craig Ramsay, who has held the job for the past eight years, and in is Vladimír Országh, a former national team assistant coach who served as interim head coach during the most recent IIHF World Championship.