After spending his entire career in North America, pending UFA forward Devin Shore is heading overseas. He signed a one-year deal with HC Sparta Prague of the Czech Extraliga today, the club announced.
Shore, 31 in July, spent this season on a two-way deal with the Wild. He was meant to be a top-six piece for AHL Iowa, but a never-ending list of injuries to Minnesota’s forward group meant he spent most of the season up with the big club.
Outside of throwing the body with 76 hits, he wasn’t particularly effective in fourth-line minutes. Averaging 8:39 of ice time over 55 games, Shore recorded a 1-4–5 scoring line, a minus-eight rating, and some of the worst even-strength possession metrics on the team (40.9 CF%, 38.1 xGF%).
Shore was once an everyday NHL contributor and even had back-to-back 30-point seasons with the Stars in 2016-17 and 2017-18 to kick off his career, but he hasn’t held down a consistent role since. His 55 appearances this season were his most since the 2018-19 campaign, and he hasn’t hit double digits in goals since then, either.
A second-round pick by Dallas in 2012, he’s appeared in parts of the last 10 NHL seasons and has also made stops in Anaheim, Columbus, Edmonton, and Seattle. He heads overseas after recording 52 goals and 144 points in 498 NHL games, a career that’s unlikely to extend at his age.
He’ll head to Czechia to link up with other ex-NHLers like Roman Horák, Michal Kempný, and Mark Pysyk on Sparta’s 2025-26 roster.