700 Game NHL Veteran Leaves the NHL and Signs a Deal in Europe

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Daniel Lucente
October 31, 2024 (3:32 PM)

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Former NHL veteran Pierre-Edouard Bellemare, who was recently on a PTO with the Colorado Avalanche and who played over 700 NHL games, has gone to Europe.

Veteran center Pierre-Edouard Bellemare isn't ready to hang them up just yet. After being let go from pro tryout duties with the Colorado Avalanche at training camp, Bellemare's next move sends him back across the Atlantic to HC Ajoie of the Swiss National League, where he's inked through to the end of the current season. It's a big change for the 39-year-old, who hasn't played pro hockey outside North America in over a decade. It will be a new challenge in his career and a change of scenery after playing most of his recent years in the NHL.

Bellemare has followed a rather unusual path in professional hockey. Having been one of the best in France's Ligue Magnus as well as Sweden's HockeyAllsvenskan and Elitserien, he finally got his first NHL contract with the Philadelphia Flyers at age 29 after impressing at the 2014 World Championship with Team France.

He didn't take long to prove himself, as he made himself an everyday NHL player and recorded 12 points in 81 games for the Flyers in the 2014-15 season. Tough and a true team player, he became a reliable fourth-line center who would go against more defensive pairings and take on physical roles unnoticed but very important.

During his time in the NHL, Bellemare played for the Golden Knights, Avalanche, Lightning, and Kraken. He had reached the Stanley Cup Final with the expansion Vegas team in its first year and again this summer with Tampa Bay. He never hoisted the Cup. After signing a one-year deal with the Seattle Kraken in 2023, he struggled to find consistent lineup placement, scoring just seven points in 40 games. At 39, his NHL future looked at best in question as his ice time was whittled down to a career-low average of 9:50 per game.

Still posting respectable possession numbers, even with diminished minutes in Seattle, they chose not to re-sign him, so he went to Colorado on a PTO but they did decide against bringing him back as well. Now dealing with a plethora of injuries up front, Colorado may regret that decision, as the experience of Bellemare could have fit in holes and made their lineup more stable.

With HC Ajoie, Pierre-Edouard Bellemare brings a wealth of NHL experience to a team that has scuffled out of the gate in the Swiss National League. Ajoie ranks dead last in the standings, and Bellemare's leadership might just be what they need.

This transfer to Switzerland could open new doors for him on the international scene, even though it seems the journey in the NHL is over for good. He might even compete for France in the 2026 Winter Olympics. As it stands, Bellemare will leave once again his mark on European ice by showing just how committed and skilled he is.