Damien Brunner placed on unconditional waivers by Devils; return to Europe next?
Before arriving in Detroit in 2013, Damien Brunner was a 20-goal scorer with EV Zug of the Swiss League. He found modest success on a line with Red Wings captain Henrik Zetterberg, posting 12 goals and 26 points in his first and only year in Hockeytown. He parlayed that success into a two-year, $5 million deal with the New Jersey Devils.
Almost two years after entering the NHL at age 27, Brunner looks to be heading back to Switzerland after the team placed him on unconditional waivers Thursday with the likely intention of terminating his contract.
Brunner was waived over the weekend, but no one was interested in picking up the final year of a two-year, $5 million deal he signed after joining the Devils in training camp last season on a PTO.
“It hasn’t worked," said Devils coach Peter DeBoer about the move. "Pretty simple … I’ve got my ideas, but let’s talk about Washington. We’ve moved on. He’s on waivers and we’ll go from there.”
In two seasons in New Jersey Brunner posted 13 goals and 32 points in 77 games, not good enough to get out of DeBoer’s doghouse in the end. His minutes diminished in his final handful of games with the Devils, all but signaling the end was near.
With no takers on waivers, the termination of Brunner’s contract means the door is open to head back to Europe, with rumors having Swiss side Lugano interested in his services.
- - - - - - -
Sean Leahy is the associate editor for Puck Daddy on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Sean_Leahy
MORE FROM YAHOO HOCKEY:
