Veteran free-agent forward Leo Komarov returns to the ice for the Spengler Cup, joining host HC Davos. His future beyond the tournament remains uncertain.
Finnish forward Leo Komarov, a free agent who has not played this season, will join host HC Davos for the upcoming Spengler Cup, the club announced on Saturday.
There is no indication whether Komarov intends to play after the tournament, whether in Davos or elsewhere, or whether the 38-year-old intends to retire. Komarov has spent the past two seasons playing in Finland for IFK Helsinki.
Born in Narva, Estonia, at a time when it was controlled by the Soviet Union, and raised in Finland, Komarov is a dual citizen of Finland and Russia. He was a sixth-round draft pick of the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2006.
Between 2013 and 2022, Komarov played 491 NHL regular-season games for the Leafs and New York Islanders, recording 170 points and 207 penalty minutes. He also recorded nine points in 49 playoff games.
He also played professionally for Ässät Pori and the Lahti Pelicans in Finland, Dynamo Moscow and SKA St. Petersburg in Russia, and Lulea Hockey in Sweden.
Internationally, Komarov represented Finland in two IIHF World Junior Championships, seven senior-level World Championships, and two Winter Olympics. He was a member of the Finnish team that won gold in 2022 in Beijing.
Spengler Cup Announces 2025 Groups And Schedule
Earlier this week, the Spengler Cup organizing committee confirmed the six
teams that will compete in this year’s edition of the tournament.
For the first time, it will include a <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/international/latest-news/team-of-ncaa-selects-to-play-in-spengler-cup">team of U.S. Collegiate
Selects</a>.
In addition to the 38-year-old Komarov, another Finnish forward, 22-year-old Niko Huuhtanen, will also join Davos for the tournament. A former prospect of the Tampa Bay Lightning, Huuhtanen has split this season between the AHL, ECHL, and Switzerland’s National League, where he has played one game so far for EHC Biel-Bienne.
Davos, whose roster also includes ex-NHLers Joakim Nordström, Brendan Lemieux, Filip Zadina, Rasmus Asplund and Klas Dahlbeck, will play in the Cattini Group of the Spengler Cup along with Team Canada and the U.S. Collegiate Selects.
14 NHL Drafted Players On Spengler Cup's U.S. Collegiate Selects Team
NHL prospects headline the U.S. Collegiate Selects roster for the Spengler Cup, featuring a mix of international talent and future stars.