Former Edmonton Oilers forward Zack Kassian has picked his skates back up despite announcing his retirement earlier this season.
Former Edmonton Oilers forward Zack Kassian has picked his skates back up despite announcing his retirement earlier this season.
EDMONTON -- Zack Kassian was a beloved member of the Edmonton Oilers during his tenure with the team. That tenure ended July 2022 when he was packaged together with a few draft picks to the Arizona Coyotes.
It was a painful move personally for the Oilers, but it needed to happen to clear out cap space. By dealing him away they freed up $3.2-million in cap space.
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He played all of last year with the Coyotes and the results were a bit lackluster. He only registered two points in 51 games. That poor season for Kassian led to him being bought out by the team in the summer.
He wasn't completely out of the NHL picture yet, as the Anaheim Ducks decided to take a chance on him by offering Kassian a professional tryout (PTO). Ultimately, that was a dead end for him as the Ducks let him go from his PTO on October 8th, 2023. A mere 18 days later he would announce his retirement from hockey.
While it was unfortunate to hear that news at the time, it appears as though things have changed for the former Oilers winger. Yesterday HC Sparta Praha of the Czech Extraliga announced that they had signed Kassian to a contract. No details about the contract are out at this point in time.
Almost three months since announcing his retirement from the NHL he will be focusing on getting back into game shape to play for his new team. He's been keeping himself busy as he told some of the HC Sparta Praha media:
"I've been on the ice at home. Obviously it has no comparison to what it's like to actually play the game." Kassian knows that he needs to work hard to get back into the lineup to play professional hockey.
"I'm here, I'm putting on the work boots and getting ready."
The former Oiler was surprised by a call from his agent. Kassian had received an offer to play overseas. He was immediately open to it, "As soon as my agent called and said they were interested I jumped up and was excited to come here."
But why put retirement on hold and go overseas to play hockey? Kassian had a simple explanation.
"I enjoy hockey like a lot of pro hockey players, that's what they've been doing their whole life. I've been doing it since I've been eight-years old. Obviously the NHL is the pinnacle but there's some great hockey over here and really good players."
It also fulfills a desire that he's had for a long time.
"It's something I said I've always said I wanted to do and the chance to get to do it is pretty cool."
As far as when it comes to him playing his first game it's out of his hands. He said, "that will be up to the coach." But he is focused on getting himself ready for the playoffs.
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