A former NHL veteran is headed back to Switzerland to continue his professional career. According to a team announcement, forward Nick Shore has signed with the NL’s HC Lugano for the 2026-27 season.
It’s been some time since Shore, 33, has featured in the North American professional circuit. A standout at the University of Denver, Shore was drafted with the 82nd overall pick of the 2011 NHL Draft by the Los Angeles Kings. After a few solid campaigns with the AHL’s Manchester Monarchs, the AHL affiliate of the Kings, Shore became a full-time player in Los Angeles by the 2015-16 season.
Largely a bottom-six forward, Shore played relatively well for the Kings. In three-and-a-half years with Los Angeles, Shore scored 14 goals and 49 points in 211 games with a -16 rating, averaging 12:48 of ice time while managing a 50.6% success rate in the faceoff dot. Additionally, Shore was exceptional on the defensive side of the puck, earning a 55.3% CorsiFor and 91.6% on-ice SV% at even strength.
Eventually, Shore was traded to the Ottawa Senators during the 2017-18 season, along with Marián Gáborík, in exchange for Dion Phaneuf and Nate Thompson. Less than two weeks later, after appearing in six games for the Senators, Shore was dealt to the Calgary Flames for a seventh-round pick.
Believing he had fallen out of a full-time role in the NHL, which was largely true at the time, Shore went overseas for the first time, signing with the KHL’s Metallurg Magnitogorsk for the 2018-19 season. He returned the following year, splitting his season between the Winnipeg Jets and Toronto Maple Leafs. Since then, Shore has been in Europe, playing in the Slovak Extraliga, National League, KHL, and SHL.