The Vegas Golden Knights have been busy on Day 1 of free agency.
The team announced two more moves, including the free-agent signing of forward Sven Baertschi, who agreed to a one-year, two-way contract worth $750,000.
Vegas also announced that Gage Quinney will return on a one-year deal.
Baertschi is a former first-round pick (No. 13 overall) of the Calgary Flames in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft. He played parts of four seasons with the Flames before getting dealt to Vancouver for a second-round pick.
Baertschi scored three goals in his first five NHL games after being recalled on an emergency basis; in total, he put up eight goals and 28 points in 66 games with Calgary.
He found success with the Canucks, however, scoring 15, 18, 14 and nine goals in the following four years, respectively. He recorded 25-plus points in three consecutive seasons.
But Baertschi, 28, has played just 32 games in the NHL over the past three years.
He missed most of the 2018-19 campaign after suffering a concussion on a hit by former Golden Knights forward Tomas Hyka; he cleared waivers the following year. A lot of that had to with his contract, as he signed a three-year, $10.1 million deal in 2018.
Baertschi recorded 58 goals and 110 points in 225 games with the Canucks and has 138 points in 291 career NHL contests.
The Swiss forward has plenty of skill and scores a lot of goals from in tight; he could have a bounce-back effort with a change in scenery, though he’ll likely play in the AHL with the Henderson Silver Knights after playing 67 games with the Utica Comets over the last two seasons.
Sven Baertschi, his 16th goal of the season, from Jonathan Tavares. #sweetpass pic.twitter.com/P1kmv3pCsW
— Vancouver #Canucks (@Canucks) March 10, 2017
Vegas also announced that Quinney will return to the Knights on a one-year, two-way contract.
Quinney is the first Nevada-born player in the NHL.
He tallied one assist in three appearances with the Golden Knights in 2019-20, adding 17 goals and 36 points in 46 games with the Chicago Wolves that year.
Quinney is coming off a strong performance with Henderson in which he potted 10 goals and 17 points in 19 games. He spent part of the 2020-21 season on the Vegas taxi squad.
Gage Quinney shorthanded goal
Assist: Korczak pic.twitter.com/YnQM3hdotJ
— Vegas Knightly (@VegasKnightly) May 23, 2021
Other transactions the Knights have announced today include the three-year deal for Alec Martinez, the acquisition of Evgenii Dadonov from Ottawa and the signing of backup goaltender Laurent Brossoit.