Former Los Angeles Kings centerman Nick Shore has extended his tenure in Switzerland’s National League. The 34 year old originally signed a short-term contract with HC Lugano that was set to expire at the end of October.
With that date approaching, he has formally signed through the end of the 2026-27 season. Shore is among Lugano’s top scorers, with 13 points in 14 league games with the club.
A full-season contract will commit Shore to a full season in Switzerland’s top league, a setting he has already thrived in before. Shore won a National League championship with EV Zug in 2021.
He scored 27 points in 22 games, then added eight points in 13 playoff matchups. That was his first season overseas, though he began the year in Slovakia’s top league with HK Dukla Trencin.
Switzerland, and a championship, must have made a warm impression, as Shore went on to join HC Ambri-Piotta for the start of the 2022-23 season. He made another mid-season move that year, heading to HV71 in Sweden’s SHL.
Shore stayed in the SHL – splitting his time between HV71 and Linkoping HC – until the end of the 2025-26 season. He totaled 99 points in 157 games in what is largely considered one of the top-five pro leagues in the world.
Just a few months later, he returned to Switzerland to chase another Swiss title.
Despite strong scoring at the top of their lineup – including scoring leader Jere Innala’s point-per-game pace – Lugano has struggled to start the year. They sit with a 6-8-2 record, good for 12th-overall in the National League.
Their lineup features scattered NHL talent, including Olle Lycksell, Lassi Thomson, Mirco Muller, and Zach Sanford. That bunch will now include Shore for the long-haul, as they try to surge back up the standings.