*Photo from the Dallas Morning News*
One of the veteran grinders of the NHL is heading back home. LW Michael Raffl has agreed to a two year contract with Lausanne Hockey Club in the Switzerland National League, according to an announcement on Thursday from Lausanne.
In a statement, Lausanne head coach John Fust said that "Michael has proven his worth as a leader in the NHL and on the Austrian national team. He has a versatile profile, since he can play at centre or on the wing. We look forward to having him in our organization for the next two seasons."
Raffl became a UFA this offseason after playing out a one year, $1.1 million deal with the Dallas Stars. Now, the Austrian native is heading back to Europe, where his playing days started, on an unknown financial amount. Raffl got his start in the NHL by signing with the Philadelphia Flyers out of Sweden as an undrafted free agent in 2013.
Last season with the Stars, Raffl ended the regular season with 7 goals and 9 assists to his name. Additionally, he had a -19 plus/minus rating while averaging 14:32 of ice time, playing in 76 games. He added two goals and one assist in 7 playoff games, with the Stars losing to the Calgary Flames in the first round of the playoffs.
Across 9 NHL seasons, split between the Stars, Flyers, and Washington Capitals, Raffl has 89 goals and 90 assists. He averaged 13:21 of ice time per game while recording a -7 plus/minus rating in 590 regular season games. Raffl added 7 goals and 4 assists in 39 career playoff games split over 6 seasons.
By signing with Lausanne now, this might be a permanent departure from the NHL for Raffl. He is now 33 and turning 34 in December, and didn't have much interest as a UFA this offseason.
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