- Matej Blumel signed a four-year deal with HC Sparta Praha of the Czech Extraliga
- The 26-year-old winger leaves the NHL after one injury-hit season in Boston’s system
- Read below for his numbers, the Boston stint that went sideways, and why four years matters
Matej Blumel is done chasing an NHL job. The 26-year-old winger signed a four-year deal with HC Sparta Praha of the Czech Extraliga, the club announced this week, and he’s heading home to Prague after one season in Boston’s system.
The four years are what stand out. Fringe NHL forwards usually sign one-year deals and keep their options open. Blumel went the other way and locked in term and guaranteed money at home.
That Boston stint never got going. He signed a one-year, one-way contract worth $875K last summer, a rare one-way deal for a Group Six free agent after a big year in the minors.
Then it went sideways. Blumel cleared waivers in training camp, got recalled about six weeks later, and hurt his lower body in his fourth game. He landed on long-term injured reserve, and once he was healthy in December, Boston sent him back to Providence for good. He finished without a point in four NHL games.
The scoring never stopped down in the minors, though. He put up 21 goals and 31 assists in 58 games for Providence last season. The year before, he tied for the second-most points in the AHL with 72.
His NHL resume stayed thin all along. Edmonton drafted him in the fourth round in 2019 but never signed him. He inked an entry-level deal with Dallas three years later and got into 13 NHL games, scoring twice. He becomes the latest fringe forward to take a European deal this summer, joining Jaret Anderson-Dolan, who signed in Sweden earlier in the week.
Blumel chipped in four points in seven games for the Czech Republic at the World Championship in May. Now he plays in front of that same crowd full time, with four years of runway in Prague.
