The Madrid Royals had a productive day, adding star offensive winger Tyler Ennis and two defensemen – two of them Smurfs last season – to the family. They also saw three family members move to other families today.
Ennis, who has played for Southern Conference rivals Bratislava and Berlin, decided to take his 32-year-old body and elite puckhandling skill to Madrid for the sum of $9 million for two years. Ennis has scored 30 or more goals in a season four times, most recently last season while playing 18 minutes per game with the Smurfs. He and his agent Lars Forssell have a long history of holding out for more money and that strategy paid off because Ennis will earn $18 million by the end of Season 12. In Spain, Ennis should get up over 20 minutes per game again. His center is likely to be Sean Couturier or Nardo Nagtzaam.
Madrid also signed defensemen Brenden Dillon and resigned Simon Despres. Dillon, 30, played almost all of his career in St. Petersburg, but was Ennis’ teammate in Berlin last season. Despres, also 30, was Ennis’ teammate in Bratislava for a short time and then again for two seasons in Berlin. Dillon and Despres are both considered defensive defensemen, although both are capable of scoring 7 goals per season.
Bratislava made a couple of moves today too, claiming Milan Gulas off waivers from Madrid and then signing a Russian rookie forward named Vasili Glotov. Gulas played for the Eagles for 8 seasons before the team let him walk before the start of Season 10. Many Bratislava fans loved Gulas and they often lobbied for him to be given first-line duties, but Jonathon Toews was always ahead of him on the depth chart. He is 33 now and Toews is still ahead of him but there is a chance he could get second- or third-line minutes. Glotov is a depth player who will only play if his low salary is needed.
Two of Madrid’s German defensemen from Season 10 have moved across the Iberian Peninsula to play with Lisbon H.C. Benedikt Bruckner, 24, has 53 EURO games under his belt and Christoph Korner, 22, has 77. Both signed for relatively small contracts and that fact might guarantee them ice time.
Berlin signed a low-pay defenseman of their own, picking up Swede Carl Dahlstrom, who has no EURO experience.
