A pair of former NHL forwards could head back to North America this offseason. After both having strong seasons with the KHL’s Traktor Chelyabinsk, the club has opted to terminate the contracts of Lukas Sedlak and Tomas Hyka.
Sedlak, a 2011 sixth-round pick of Columbus, actually spent six years in the Blue Jackets organization, spending the last three as a full-time NHLer. He tallied 15 goals and 12 assists for 27 points in 162 games from 2016 to 2019 in a Blue Jackets uniform, and he was a member of the 2019 Blue Jackets squad that upset the Tampa Bay Lightning with a first-round sweep.
He had a pair of solid seasons in Chelyabinsk but had a career year this season, his third there, with 43 points in 49 games. He netted an assist in four games representing Czechia at the 2022 Winter Olympics.
Hyka was a sixth-round pick just a year later of the Los Angeles Kings, but he never played for the organization and his rights expired. The Vegas Golden Knights signed him as a free agent prior to their inaugural season, and he appeared in 27 games from 2017 to 2019. He scored twice and compiled seven points in the big leagues. He and Sedlak have both spent the past three seasons in Chelyabinsk.
With both Czech forwards 29 years old, they could prove to be solid bargain-bin options for high-end veteran AHL depth or fourth-line roles should they opt to return stateside for 2022-23.