The weight of 15 seasons in the NHL is beginning to wear on two-time Stanley Cup-winner Brandon Saad. He played in only 49 games in the 2025-26 season, marking the first time that Saad has ever appeared in under 50 games in a full season since becoming a full-time NHL winger. The career-worst performance is underlined by Saad’s nine points on the year – his first single-digit scoring performance in the NHL. It seems Saad’s days in an NHL top-six may be in the rearview – but teams overseas are seeing his spinout as shrewd opportunity. Two clubs in Sweden’s SHL – Brynas IF and Djugardens IF – have expressed interest in bringing the American winger into their fold per Johan Svensson of Expressen.
An NHL alum has led the SHL in scoring in four of the last five seasons, generously including 22-game Edmonton Oilers veteran David Tomasek. The path to strong scoring in Sweden is clear for NHL veterans who begin to fall a step behind their leaguemates. The SHL style relies less on athletics and more on smart playmaking and gradual build-ups – creating a system that many players in the top flight can fit into through their 30s.
Saad carries much more pedigree than recent SHL scoring leaders Tomasek, Oscar Lindberg, Antti Suomela, or Marek Hrivik. The former NHL champion was a golden lineup piece through much of his career. Saad offered impactful two-way play to compliment scoring that seemed to stick no matter where he went. His first full year in the NHL saw Saad score 47 points on the Conference Finals-bound Chicago Blackhawks. Saad returned with his first 50-point season in the next year. His scoring propped up Chicago’s middle-six en route to the 2015 Cup, while also sparking a three-year streak of 50-points that Saad carried through a move to the Columbus Blue Jackets. He continued to rival 40 or 45 points through the late-2010s and early-2020s, and through a career that also stopped in Colorado and St. Louis.
Having settled in Vegas for the last two years, Saad’s days as a plug-and-play, two-way winger are in the past. He most recently offered the Golden Knights a veteran benchwarmer who could fill in without mistakes when injuries popped up. That’s low standing for a man just 16 games away from 1,000 in the NHL – and could be the motivator for an SHL move. Saad’s off-puck work ethic and heads-up playmaking would be coveted in the Swedish league – particularly on a Brynas offense that ranked fourth in scoring last season, or on a Djugardens team flanked by up-and-coming NHL prospects.
It would be no surprise to see Saad return to his high-scoring ways on either lineup – though both teams face one snag in recruiting the NHL free agent. Saad has made no indication that he is interested in a move to Europe. As a veteran of American hockey, there is a strong chance that the 33 year old would prefer to stay close to home while chasing his next milestone in the NHL. If that is the case, Saad will spend the rest of the summer trying to convince a team to sign him to a cheap, short-term deal – or a camp try-out. Should those arguments fall flat, it seems Saad would have no shortage of alternative options in the hockey world.
49 is more than half though, not under. only if you include the post season which he might still have played over 50% of the games still combining regular season and post season