Goaltender Thomas Greiss has come out of retirement to sign what’s being described as a “short-term deal” with Lowen Frankfurt as the team bears through injuries to both of their goaltenders. Greiss is headed to Frankfurt from St. Louis, where he’s resided since joining the Blues in 2022. He announced his retirement following the end of the 2022-23 campaign, bringing an end to his 14-year career in the NHL.
Greiss found multiple paths to notoriety throughout his career – but became most well-known for his role in the New York Islanders’ goaltending carousel from 2015 to 2020. He moved to Long Island on a two-year contract, immediately assuming the starting role ahead of Jaroslav Halak. Greiss performed well on the deal, posting 49 wins and a .918 save percentage through a combined 92 games. That was enough to earn Greiss a three-year extension following the end of his deal, though New York would bring in Robin Lehner in 2018 and Sergei Varlamov in 2019 to split starts with the aging German. Those additions ultimately pushed Greiss towards a handful of sunset years with the Detroit Red Wings and St. Louis Blues. He’d end his career with 368 games, 162 wins, and a .911 save percentage; playing with six different franchises, though only ever reaching 100 games with the Islanders. He’ll now bring that NHL experience to a reunion in Germany’s top league, having played 36 games and recorded a .925 save percentage from 2003 to 2006.
Other notes from around the hockey world:
- Veteran NHL forward Greg McKegg has signed with BK Mlada Boleslav of the Czechia Extraliga. It’s his first trip overseas, after spending the last 11 seasons across North American pros. He’s totaled 233 NHL games across nine seasons and seven organizations. He managed 21 goals and 39 points in that span, routinely filling a fourth-line role. McKegg will be the only one on Boleslav with NHL experience, though he’s one of 42 NHL vets across the league.
- Fellow veteran NHL forward Brett Ritchie will move close by, signing a deal with HK Nitra of Slovakia’s Tipos Extraliga, the team announced on Instagram. Ritchie played in his first European season last year, recording three points in 12 games with the KHL’s Dinamo Minsk. He’s just two years removed from NHL action, having played in 50 games and scored 13 points between the Calgary Flames and Arizona Coyotes in 2022-23. That season stands as the cap on Ritchie’s 391-game career in the NHL as he continues a trek around European hockey.