Ex-Star, Jacket signs in Switzerland

American defenseman Gavin Bayreuther, 30, has signed a one-year contract with Lausanne HC, the National League club announced on Tuesday. Bayreuther played 122 NHL games with the Dallas Stars and Columbus Blue Jackets between 2017 and 2023.

“Following Lawrence Pilut’s injury, we were looking for an import defender to complete our squad,” said Lausanne sports director John Fust. “We took the time to study the different profiles that were on the market and we made the decision to bring in Gavin for the upcoming season. He is an experienced player and a true leader of men. We wanted a physical player who could participate in the transition to the forwards. His arrival is very beneficial for our group.”

After graduating from St. Lawrence University in 2017, Bayreuther signed with Dallas that spring and was assigned to the AHL’s Texas Stars. Over his NHL career, the 6-foot-1, 196-pound rearguard put up 28 points and 62 penalty minutes. He was claimed from Dallas by the Seattle Kraken in the 2021 Expansion Draft but traded to Columbus six days later.

Bayreuther returned to Texas last summer but missed most of the 2023-24 season, playing in 16 of his 17 games with the AHL Stars at the tail end of the season.

In Lausanne, joins a team that went to the National League finals last season. The roster includes Austrian Michael Raffl, Latvian Ronalds Kenins, Frenchman Tim Bozon and Czech David Sklenička. Pilut, the Swedish defenseman, tore his Achilles tendon and is expected to be out of the lineup until February.

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