Unrestricted free agent forward Kris Versteeg will opt to sign with Bern of Switzerland’s NLA, according to TSN’s Darren Dreger and other reports.
Looks like Kris Versteeg’s playing career is taking a different path. He’s expected to sign with Bern in Swiss League this wknd.
— Darren Dreger (@DarrenDreger) July 22, 2016
Versteeg, 30, split last season with the Carolina Hurricanes and Los Angeles Kings, accumulating 38 points in 77 games. He was dealt from Carolina to L.A. at the trade deadline.
Since turning pro in 2006, Kris Versteeg has skated in 550 NHL games with the Chicago Blackhawks, Toronto Maple Leafs, Philadelphia Flyers, Florida Panthers, Carolina Hurricanes and L.A. Kings, amassing 131 goals and 313 points. He is a two-time Stanley Cup champion, both with the Blackhawks.
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The 2004 fifth round draft pick has had a very good NHL career to date, featuring three 40+ point seasons, and it has come as a surprise to many that he will not be playing in the NHL this upcoming season.
Versteeg is undoubtedly still a good NHL talent that would have fit in well with any number of forward cores in the NHL, but in today’s salary cap driven league, the money may not have been right for the player or the teams he negotiated with.