Veteran depth defenseman Connor Carrick is heading overseas for the first time in his professional career. The 31-year-old signed a two-year contract with Swiss National League club HC Lugano earlier this week, the team announced.
Carrick spent 2024-25 on a two-way deal with the Oilers, although he didn’t see NHL ice for the second season in a row. His last big-league appearance came in April 2023 when he was with the Bruins. The 5’11”, 192-lb righty remains a high-end minor-league option, although he’s bounced around a bunch in the last few years. That offers some insight into why the Illinois native has opted for a later-career switch to the high-level European pros for some more financial and personal stability.
This year saw Carrick slot into the lineup 63 times for AHL Bakersfield, finishing second on the team in scoring among defensemen with 18-23–41 in 63 games. His 101 PIMs led the team, and his 18 goals were his highest in a single season at any level since his U14 days.
The Oilers were Carrick’s seventh NHL franchise in his 12-year professional career. A fifth-round pick by the Capitals in 2012, he’s also spent time with the Maple Leafs, Stars, Devils, Kraken, and Bruins organizations. Most of his NHL action came in Toronto, playing 130 of his 242 career games there from 2016 to 2018. The 2016-17 and 2017-18 campaigns were his only ones without a minor-league assignment, including a career-high 4-8–12 scoring line in 47 games for Toronto in the latter year in bottom-pairing minutes.
An unrestricted free agent this summer, Carrick joins a Lugano roster that’s already locked in former NHLers Carl Dahlström, Mirco Müller, Jiří Sekáč, and Calvin Thurkauf for the 2025-26 season.