The SHL bombshell is now official.
HV71 announces that Niklas Hjalmarsson is ready for the club.
It was already talked about several months ago. But then three-time Stanley Cup champion Niklas Hjalmarsson dismissed that there would be any game in the SHL and HV71.
The career was over for the Chicago Blackhawks legend. But now the comeback is a fact. Hjalmarsson starts training with HV71 on Monday.
– There have always been thoughts of playing in HV71 again and the desire has become even greater when I have been to the matches and felt the atmosphere in the arena. I drive by Husqvarna Garden every day and think about what it would have been like to play in HV71 and I really want to give this a chance, otherwise I will regret it in the future, he says in a press release.
Hjalmarsson should be in good shape, but when he can be available for games, no one knows.
– I have great respect for the SHL as a league and now I will start training with the team to feel what I stand for. Then whether it will be two weeks, a year or three years, the future will tell. But I’m incredibly excited for hockey again and it will be great fun to come to Husqvarna Garden on Monday and meet everyone.
Hjalmarsson was for a long time one of the NHL’s top defensive backs and could obviously be a real reinforcement for HV71.