Montreal Canadiens goalie Connor Hughes (95) makes a save in front of New Jersey Devils forward Mike Hardman (39) during a pre-season game in September 2024. Photo: Eric Bolte-Imagn Images [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/55e16e2b-6ea8-423c-bda8-278db35812b5.jpeg] Montreal Canadiens goalie Connor Hughes (95) makes a save in front of New Jersey Devils forward Mike Hardman (39) during a pre-season game in September 2024. Photo: Eric Bolte-Imagn Images Canadian-Swiss goaltender Connor Hughes, 28, has signed a five-year contract with Lausanne HC, the National League club announced on Tuesday. Last season [https://thehockeynews.com/international/latest-news/goalie-connor-hughes-moves-from-lausanne-to-montreal], Hughes played for the Laval Rocket, the AHL [http://thn.com/ahl] affiliate of the Montreal Canadiens [http://thn.com/montreal]. In 29 games, Hughes had a record of 15-12-3 with two shutouts, a 2.58 goals-against average and a .905 save percentage. Hughes, who was born in London, Ont. but played in Switzerland from 2017 until 2024, becoming a naturalized Swiss citizen in the process. As such, he doesn’t count against Lausanne’s import quota in the National League. In Lausanne, Hughes is expected to team up with French-born Antoine Keller, a 20-year-old Washington Capitals [http://thn.com/washington] prospect who also counts as a non-import. “It’s essential for us to have a Swiss goaltending duo of national caliber due to the length and intensity of the schedule,” said Lausanne sports director John Fust. “It’s an advantage to be able to count on two talented goaltenders who have proven their consistency and performance at a high level. We’ll need depth to play in the National League as well as the Champions Hockey League [https://thehockeynews.com/international/latest-news/champions-hockey-leagues-field-of-24-teams-for-2025-26-complete], two competitions in which we want to be ambitious.” Over seven seasons, Hughes has played 73 National League games with Ambrì-Piotta, Fribourg-Gottéron, Genève-Servette and Lausanne, posting a goals-against average of 2.31, a save percentage of .904 and four shutouts. In 2023-24, just before signing with Montreal [https://thehockeynews.com/international/latest-news/goalie-connor-hughes-moves-from-lausanne-to-montreal], Hughes backstopped Lausanne to Game 7 of the National League finals, where it lost to the ZSC Lions. [https://thehockeynews.com/international/latest-news/zurich-lions-win-swiss-title-malgin-injures-knee] In addition to Hughes and Keller, Lausanne has under contract for 2025-26 American Austin Czarnik [https://thehockeynews.com/international/players/sc-bern-signs-ex-nhler], German Dominik Kahun [https://thehockeynews.com/international/latest-news/dominik-kahun-changes-teams-in-switzerland], and Finns Janne Kuokkanen, and Antti Suomela, Lauri Pajuniemi [https://thehockeynews.com/international/latest-news/lausanne-signs-trio-of-finns-janne-kuokkanen-lauri-pajuniemi-ahti-oksanen] and Sami Niku [https://thehockeynews.com/international/latest-news/finnish-former-jets-habs-prospect-changes-teams-in-switzerland]. Finnish Former Jets & Habs Prospect Changes Teams in Switzerland [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/acf53d09-d795-4690-9d5b-d7c1541dc948.jpeg] Finnish Former Jets & Habs Prospect Changes Teams in Switzerland Finnish defenseman Sami Niku, 28, has signed a two-year contract with Lausanne HC, <a href="https://lausannehc.ch/2025/04/30/sami-niku-rejoint-les-rangs-du-lhc/">the National League club announced on Wednesday</a>. [https://thehockeynews.com/international/latest-news/finnish-former-jets-habs-prospect-changes-teams-in-switzerland]
