Stanley Cup champion Jan Rutta signs in Switzerland

Swiss hockey team Geneve-Servette HC has announced that they’ve signed defenseman Jan Rutta.

Rutta was an unrestricted free agent after the conclusion of his three-year contract with a $2.75 million cap hit. After nearly two months on the free agent market, he wasn’t getting any interest from NHL teams, so he opted to sign in Europe.

Rutta signed with Geneve-Servette HC, a team that plays in the National League, the top-flight league in Switzerland. They’ve held a spot in the NL for the last 22 seasons, but they came close to relegation last season. They finished 12th in the 14-team league with a 17-7-6-22 record.

Rutta will play in Europe for the first time in nine seasons, having last played there prior to his NHL career when he spent six seasons with Chomutov Pirati in the Czech Republic, his native country.

Rutta had three goals and six assists for nine points in 54 games with the San Jose Sharks in the 2024-25 season.

Should this be the end of Rutta’s NHL career, he finishes with 23 goals and 75 assists for 98 points in 417 regular season games across eight seasons, along with three goals and eight assists for 11 points in 49 playoff games. While he never received votes for any individual awards, he did win two Stanley Cups with the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2020 and 2021.

Rutta was a free agent signing by the Chicago Blackhawks in the 2017, where he spent parts of two seasons before he was traded to the Lightning at the 2019 trade deadline. He spent parts of four seasons with the Lightning, where he won two Stanley Cups before departing in free agency in 2022. He signed a three-year contract with the Pittsburgh Penguins, but was traded to the Sharks in the summer of 2023 as part of the return for Erik Karlsson, where he then spent the last two seasons before departing for Switzerland.