Former Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Vladimir Mihalik has signed a one-year contract with KHL rookie Slovan Bratislava, the team said on its website Thursday.
Mihalik, 25, was a first-round draft pick for Tampa Bay in 2005 but played just 15 NHL games over two seasons.
After spending time in the second-tier American Hockey League, Mihalik returned to his native Slovakia to join Lev Poprad.
That team has moved to the Czech Republic to be rebranded Lev Prague, and will appear in next season's KHL along with Mihalik's new team, Slovan Bratislava.
Mihalik made 37 appearances for Lev Poprad, scoring one goal and four assists.
In the meantime, Slovan is known to be in negotiations to recruit two stalwarts of Slovak hockey: 40-year-old Zigmund Palffy, who scored 713 points during his NHL career mainly with the L.A. Kings and the New York Islanders; and 37-year-old Miroslav Satan, who played for the Buffalo Sabres and won the Stanley Cup with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2009.
