Austrian winger Michael Raffl, 36, has signed a one-year contract with Red Bull Salzburg, the ICEHL club announced on Thursday.

A former NHLer who’s spent the past three seasons in Switzerland, Raffl returns to play in his native country for the first time since 2011. In Salzburg, he’ll be reunited with his older brother Thomas Raffl, who is the captain of the Austrian national team that is currently playing in the IIHF World Championship.

“I’m looking forward to playing in Salzburg next season,” said Raffl. “Especially for my brother – we’ve been talking about finally playing together again for years.”

“With ‘Michi,’ we’re gaining a former NHL pro who not only impresses with his experience and physical presence, but also brings important leadership qualities,” said club GM Helmut Schlögl. “It’s especially great that he’s back on the ice with his brother Thomas – this gives our team additional energy and cohesion.”

The Raffl brothers come from Villach in southern Austria. Thomas has spent most of the past 15 seasons in Salzburg and now Michael is joining him.

Michael played two seasons in Sweden with Leksand starting in 2011 and then signed as a free agent with the Philadelphia Flyers, where he spent seven and a half seasons. Toward the end of his NHL tenure, he played 14 games with the Washington Capitals and then the full 2021-22 season with the Dallas Stars. In all, he had 179 points and 235 penalty minutes in 590 regular-season games and 11 points and 29 penalty minutes in 39 playoff games.

For the past three seasons, Raffl has played for Lausanne HC, serving as team captain the last two. Under Raffl’s leadership, Lausanne reached the National League finals each of the past two seasons, losing to the Zurich Lions each time, although Raffl missed the finals this year with an injury.

Internationally, Raffl represented Austria in the 2014 Winter Olympics and in six World Championships, although he hasn’t played for the national team since the 2018-19 season.

Raffl joins a Salzburg team that has won four consecutive ICEHL championships.

Austria Quarter-Century Teams Unveiled: Vanek, 2 Raffls And... In the spirit of the <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/news/nhl-quarter-century-teams-tracker-each-franchises-best-players-since-2000">NHL announcing quarter-century teams for each of its 30 franchises that have played since 2000</a>, I thought I’d try a similar exercise by country – first and second teams. It’s not limited to NHL performance, although that carries a lot of weight. International play for the country also weighs heavily. To be eligible, a player needn’t have necessarily played for the country at a major tournament, but he had (or has) to be eligible.