Tomáš Tatar playing for the New Jersey Devils against the Minnesota Wild on March 29, 2025. © Matt Blewett-Imagn Images [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/ed93a9f5-d34e-4d37-a291-77651dc83496.jpeg] Tomáš Tatar playing for the New Jersey Devils against the Minnesota Wild on March 29, 2025. © Matt Blewett-Imagn Images Unhappy with the way his team’s season finished, EV Zug GM Reto Kläy recently spoke to the Swiss media about how he’d like to go about strengthening his team for next season. A perennial contender in recent years, Zug finished fourth in the National League regular season and then was swept in the quarterfinals by fifth-place HC Davos. SwissHockeyNews.ch is reporting [https://swisshockeynews.ch/en/shn/men/swiss-hockey/nl/ev-zug-interested-in-tomas-tatar-dominik-kubalik-an-option-too] that Kläy recently sat down for an interview with newspaper Luzerner Zeitung and the resulting article, which is behind a paywall, mentions Slovak Tomáš Tatar and Czech Dominik Kubalík as players that he is interested in pursuing. “I will not go into individual names in detail – there is a list of 20 to 30 players – and he is one of them,” Kläy said about Tatar. Tatar, 34, has 17 points through 69 games this season for the New Jersey Devils [http://thn.com/newjersey] and is set to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1. He surely has a few more years of pro hockey left in him and has expressed a desire to play in the 2026 Winter Olympics [https://thehockeynews.com/international/latest-news/tomas-tatar-absolutely-wants-to-play-in-milan-2026-olympics], but does he want to move back to Europe next season? Tomáš Tatar “absolutely” wants to play in Milan 2026 Olympics [https://images.saymedia-content.com/.image/MjA2NjQyNDM2NzgzNDgyMzAy/usatsi_22779131.jpg] Tomáš Tatar “absolutely” wants to play in Milan 2026 Olympics Tomáš Tatar’s first World Championship was in 2012 and he won a silver medal with the Slovak team. This year was his fifth and second as team captain, but the 33-year-old winger is still searching for his second medal. Slovakia’s tournament came to an end on Thursday with a 6-3 quarterfinal loss to Canada. [https://thehockeynews.com/international/latest-news/tomas-tatar-absolutely-wants-to-play-in-milan-2026-olympics] Kubalík, 29, played this past season in Switzerland with Ambri-Piotta, where he recorded 52 points in 56 regular-season and playoff games. He has made it clear, however, that he wishes to return to the NHL [https://thehockeynews.com/international/latest-news/opt-out-deadline-passes-no-nhl-for-kubal%C3%ADk-this-season], and therefore he might not be keen to re-sign in Switzerland until he has explored all other options. The article does mention, however, that Kubalík’s agent has been in contact with Kläy. “It has been clear for some time that we want to start the new season with five forwards and two defensemen on the import positions,” the Zug GM stated. “We need an additional winger.” The National League’s rules allow each team to dress a maximum of six imports per game. Currently, Zug has Swedish defensemen Lukas Bengtsson, Niklas Hansson and Gabriel Carlsson, Czech forwards Jan Kovář [https://thehockeynews.com/international/latest-news/czech-olympian-signs-two-year-extension-in-switzerland] and Daniel Vozenilek and Swedish forwards Fredrik Olofsson and Andreas Wingerli under contract for next season. Opt-Out Deadline Passes, No NHL For Kubalík This Season [https://images.saymedia-content.com/.image/MjA3Nzk5NDE0NTM2ODA3NzQ0/usatsi_21560317.jpg] Opt-Out Deadline Passes, No NHL For Kubalík This Season When <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/international/latest-news/confirmed-dominik-kubalik-returns-to-switzerland">Dominik Kubalík signed with Swiss club HC Ambrì-Piotta in early September</a>, it included an opt-out clause in the event Kubalík came to an agreement with an NHL club before Dec. 15. That date has now passed, which means he is under contract with Ambrì the rest of the season, <a href="https://hcap.ch/it/news/dominik-kubalik-rimane-in-biancobl%C3%B9-fino-al-termine-della-stagione">the National League club announced on Monday</a>. [https://thehockeynews.com/international/latest-news/opt-out-deadline-passes-no-nhl-for-kubal%C3%ADk-this-season]
