Former Toronto Maple Leafs Forward Signs New Contract Away from the NHL
Nick Ritchie has found a new home in Europe where he is continuing his career overseas after failing to secure an NHL contract.
The former Toronto Maple Leaf has spent the past two seasons playing in Europe and has recently signed with Slovan Bratislava in Slovakia's Extraliga.
What did Nick Ritchie did during his stint in the NHL and with the Toronto Maple Leafs
Nick Ritchie is a former 10th overall pick by Anaheim in 2014 and had a strong OHL career with Peterborough and Sault Ste. Marie by scoring 102 goals and 108 assists in 212 games.
He spent five seasons with the Ducks where he recorded his best NHL season in 2018-19 with nine goals and 22 assists.
He was after that traded to Boston for Danton Heinen and he got 16 goals and 16 assists in 63 games before joining the Toronto Maple Leafs.
He then signed with Toronto to replace Zach Hyman, but Ritchie struggled and managed to do just nine points in 33 games before being traded to Arizona for Ilya Lyubushkin and Ryan Dzingel.
His stint with the Coyotes and later the Flames failed to revive his NHL career, and he didn't succeed in signing another NHL contract after this.
Since moving to Europe, Ritchie has made a name for himself with his scoring and in terms of penalty minutes.
This season, he amassed over 100 PIM in 19 games and had 70 PIM in just 10 games for Kärpät in Finland's Liiga.
Now, with Slovan Bratislava, Nick Ritchie is moving from last place HC Nove Zamky to a more competitive team.
NHL might remain uncertain, but he's now embracing his role as a physical force overseas.
| POLL | ||
FEVRIER 3 | 172 ANSWERS Former Toronto Maple Leafs Forward Signs New Contract Away from the NHL Do you think Nick Ritchie will make a return to the NHL someday? | ||
| Yes | 36 | 20.9 % |
| No | 136 | 79.1 % |
| List of polls | ||
