Two familiar NHL names are on their way to Switzerland for the 2019-20 season, as HC Fribourg-Gotteron have announced that David Desharnais and Viktor Stalberg have signed on for two years.
Desharnais, 32, had an effective season for the New York Rangers in 2017-18 but decided to try out the KHL this year. His 28 points in 58 games for Avangard tied him for fifth in team scoring, and he added another seven assists during the team’s improbable Gagarin Cup Final run. The long time Montreal Canadiens forward suited up for 524 games in the NHL, recording a career-high of 60 points in the 2011-12 season. He had previously played in Switzerland during the 2012-13 lockout.
Stalberg, 33, actually joined Desharnais in the KHL partway through the season after leaving the NLA and recorded 11 points in 29 games down the stretch. The journeyman forward played for the Toronto Maple Leafs, Chicago Blackhawks, Nashville Predators, New York Rangers, Carolina Hurricanes and Ottawa Senators during a long career in North America, even winning the Stanley Cup in 2013. The speedy forward had 168 points in 488 regular season NHL games, but hasn’t played there since 2017.
I remember when Stalberg was in New York a game against Carolina which had Stalberg, J Staal, M Staal, E Staal, and Oscar Lindberg. It was enough to drive a play-by-play guy crazy
Ah, yes, the lawfirm of Stalberg, Staal, Staal, Staal & Lindberg! The good ‘ol days when you could still have more than one prominent partner in the firm, even if they were wearing the wrong sweaters at times…