This one seemed to fall through the cracks. James Sheppard, the phenomenal 4th line left wing misused by Todd McLellan as a serviceable, but below-average 3rd line center, has signed with the Kloten Flyers of Switzerland’s National League A, according to the team’s twitter on October 9th.
<blockquote class=”twitter-tweet” lang=”en”><p lang=”de” dir=”ltr”>Die Kloten Flyers haben den kanadischen Stürmer James Sheppard per sofort verpflichtet! <a href=”http://t.co/nqI1HsspNz”>http://t.co/nqI1HsspNz</a> <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/klotenflyers?src=hash”>#klotenflyers</a></p>— Kloten Flyers (@klotenflyers) <a href=”https://twitter.com/klotenflyers/status/652576903891652608″>October 9, 2015</a></blockquote>
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A former 9th overally pick, Sheppard struggled to find a scoring touch with the Sharks, but was a strong possession-driver in the bottom six.
Sheppard played part of three seasons with the Sharks, potting 10 goals and 30 assists in 156 games in teal. His best stretch came in the 2013-14 playoffs, where he put up 6 points in 7 games against the Kings.
He was traded to the Rangers at the trade deadline last season for a 4th round draft pick in 2016. He netted 2 goals in 14 games there, along with 2 more points in 13 playoff games. He signed a tryout contract with the Columbus Blue Jackets, but was not signed to the roster.
Best of luck overseas. One thing’s for sure, Kloten will be 100% Reaper free.
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