Last season was a tough one for veteran defenseman Jan Rutta. He dealt with some lower-body injuries and when he was in the lineup for San Jose, he was often on the third pairing. That has certainly contributed to his going unsigned through the first seven weeks of free agency but that might be coming to an end soon. Earlier this week, Blick’s Gregory Beaud reported that the blueliner is expected to sign with Geneve-Servette in Switzerland.
Rutta played in 54 games for the Sharks last season, picking up just three goals and six assists in a little over 17 minutes a night of playing time. However, he took a regular turn on their penalty kill and played some tough defensive minutes. Speculatively, NHL teams could be eyeing him as a PTO candidate to fill a sixth or seventh role if things went well in training camp but clearly, a full contract offer has yet to materialize and at some point, a guaranteed deal overseas could be viewed as a better option than trying to earn a contract off a tryout.
Rutta debuted fairly late in the NHL with his first season coming at the age of 27 with Chicago. Since then, he has suited up in 417 regular season games between four different clubs, putting up 23 goals and 75 assists along with 479 blocked shots. He also has a pair of Stanley Cup rings from his time with Tampa Bay.
Assuming Rutta eventually agrees to a deal with Geneve-Servette, he will be the third veteran NHL player to join that team this offseason. Previously, they signed wingers Jesse Puljujarvi and Jimmy Vesey and have one import slot remaining that it appears they want to use to bring in a veteran defender.