In an interview with Fernando Lavezzo of Corriere del Ticino at the 2022 World Championship, pending-UFA defenceman Dean Kukan said that he will be leaving the National Hockey League this summer and returning to Switzerland.
Note: the following is translated from Italian.
"I wanted to play in the NHL and I succeeded. Now I don't have a contract and I'll be 29 in the summer. I want a team in which to play continuously. This is why I decided to return to Switzerland." Kukan said.
Kukan, 28, signed as a free agent in July of 2015 with the Columbus Blue Jackets and went on to spend parts of seven seasons in their organization. In 153-career games with Columbus, he put up 30 points (five goals, 25 assists), 46 penalty minutes and was a plus-three.
Dean Kukan: «Volevo giocare in NHL e ci sono riuscito. Ora non ho un contratto e in estate compirò 29 anni. Voglio una squadra in cui giocare con continuità. Per questo ho deciso di tornare in Svizzera». In serata l'intervista completa su @CdT_Online— Fernando Lavezzo (@lavezzof) May 20, 2022
