Stephane Da Costa Receiving NHL Interest

After making another strong impact on the international stage, Stephane Da Costa is on the radar of several NHL clubs according to Darren Dreger of TSN. Da Costa has nine points for the French team at the current World Championships, and is tied for the tournament lead in goals with six.

Playing the last three seasons in the KHL, Da Costa has been effective when healthy. His 62 point effort in 2014-15 rivaled Alexander Radulov among CSKA Moscow players, but he’s been held to just 24 games in each of the last two seasons. The former Ottawa Senators forward scored 11 points in 47 career NHL games before bolting for the Russian league.

Da Costa went undrafted out of the USHL but then excelled for Merrimack College scoring 90 points in 77 games. Turning pro after his sophomore season, he could never find consistent minutes in the Senators NHL lineup and instead spent much of the following few years in the AHL. Now still just 27, Da Costa could return should an NHL team offer a full-time role. Dreger cautions though that there is plenty of interest from around the KHL, accelerating any timeline for NHL GMs to step up and offer him a deal.

While he likely wouldn’t make the same impact in the NHL that he does in Russia, Da Costa could represent a secondary scoring option for a team that is a bit lacking on offense. He’ll have to really want to come back to the NHL—which Dreger says he does—because he’ll likely command more money to remain in the KHL.