Lawrence Pilut is a dream name for SHL clubs.
Now he has broken the contract in the KHL.
But Swedish teams seem to be betting.
Several SHL teams are looking for new, heavy back names – and a dream name that falls into that category is without a doubt Lawrence Pilut. He broke through in HV71 five years ago but has since played hockey in the NHL and KHL.
Broken the contract
In the autumn, the full-back, who also played with Tre Kronor, extended his contract with Traktor Chelyabinsk, and that would actually have been the case in the coming season as well. But now it is clear that there will be no continuation in Russia.
On Friday, it became completely official that Pilut and his agents managed to break the contract – probably he has been forced to pay some himself – with the Russian club, and he is thus free on the market. When the information about the broken contract came earlier this week, many SHL fans began to dream of a signing, but that does not seem to be the case.
New tasks
Pilut has previously played for the Buffalo Sabers and the club still owns his NHL rights. Now that the contract has been broken in Russia, it looks like there will be a move back to North America. The experienced Buffalo News reporter Lance Lysowki writes that Buffalo is “very interested” in signing Pilut on a new contract.
The Sabers have had a difficult time in sports in recent years, and it is far from impossible that Pilut could join the team. Lysowski further writes that Pilut is willing to sign a two-way contract to get through a move and a new chance in the NHL – and very little now indicates a move back to Sweden.
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