Jun 15, 2020
Stars D Polak signs with Czech club
Dallas Stars defenceman Roman Polak is headed to the Czech Republic next season to continue his playing career.
TSN.ca Staff
Dallas Stars defenceman Roman Polak is headed to the Czech Republic next season to continue his playing career.
Polak, who will be with the Stars for the NHL's Return to Play, agreed Monday to join HC Vitkovice on a three-year contract after the season, the club announced.
The 34-year-old has four assists and is minus-6 in 41 games with the Stars this season. He is a veteran of 806 career NHL games with the St. Louis Blues, Toronto Maple Leafs, San Jose Sharks and Stars, and has 26 goals and 140 points.
Polak has had two previous stints with HC Vitkovice, playing with the Czech club in 2006-07 and during the 2012 lockout. He entered the NHL has a sixth-round pick of the Blues in 2004.
Polak's agent Allan Walsh declined comment.
— Matthew DeFranks (@MDeFranks) June 15, 2020
Stars GM Jim Nill said he had not heard from Polak. When asked if Polak would be allowed to stay in Czech for Phases 3 and 4: "We can't make someone come back under their wishes. If anyone wants to stay home, that is their decision."
When asked by Matthew DeFranks of the Dallas News whether the signing means that Polak might not return to Dallas for Phases 3 and 4, Nill said that he's heard from the player and cannot compel Polak to return if he doesn't want to.
"We can't make someone come back under their wishes," Nill told DeFranks. "If anyone wants to stay home, that is their decision."