According to an online report from a Swiss source, the Tampa Bay Lightning have signed Swiss league player Reto Suri to a two-year contract, a contract that will not go into effect until the 2014-15 season.
The report from Blick.ch seems to indicate the deal is a two-way contract that would pay him $775,000 per year, according to the report.
The Swiss took the 2013 World Championships by storm this year, going undefeated until the gold medal game against Sweden. The 5’11” forward was one of the top scorers for Team Switzerland during the WC’s, notching 5 goals and 3 assists in 10 games.
Suri is currently 24, and will be 25 when this contract is supposed to take effect. He played last season for EV Zug in the Swiss-A league. In 46 games played, Suri scored 14 goals and 11 assists.
No official word has come out from the lightning organization at this time.
[Note by John Fontana, 06/13/13 6:12 PM EDT ] Damian Cristodero of the Tampa Bay Times got clarification on the contract for Reto Suri:
Here’s a more accurate summary of Lightning-Suri situation:Player signed 1-yr, 2-way for 2013-14 (NOT 2014-15 as reported in Switzerland).
— Damian Cristodero (@LightningTimes) June 13, 2013
Lightning and player have understanding he will play next season in Switzerland, but Lightning says it now holds his rights for next 3 years
— Damian Cristodero (@LightningTimes) June 13, 2013
What does this mean? In a round-about way, the Lightning just made its first draft selection. Suri isn’t draft eligible, he was a unrestricted free agent, and the signing may not become official until July 5th when free agency starts in earnest in the NHL… Suri’s rights are controlled by the Lightning like a draft pick or a restricted free agent.
We’ll be updating the 2013 Lined-Up Update to reflect this move.
