Justin Robidas Generating Interest In Switzerland

There aren’t many remaining restricted free agents across the NHL but Carolina has three RFA players who played predominantly with AHL Chicago last season.  One of them is generating some interest overseas as Watson’s Klass Zaugg reports that forward Justin Robidas is drawing some interest from EV Zug in Switzerland.

The 23-year-old was a fifth-round pick by the Hurricanes back in 2021, going 147th overall.  Robidas was a prominent point producer in junior, amassing 160 points over his final two QMJHL seasons after being selected.

Carolina ultimately slow-played his development, however, opting to have Robidas spend a full season with ECHL Norfolk to begin his professional career in 2023-24.  He played in 32 games with the Admirals, picking up 12 goals and 15 assists.

That was enough for the Hurricanes to move him up full-time to the Wolves in the AHL and he had a productive rookie campaign in 2024-25, notching 20 goals and 35 assists in 70 games.  Robidas then beat that slightly last season, tallying 23 goals and 37 helpers in 58 games, good for a tie for 16th league-wide in points.  He also earned a pair of late-season recalls in 2024-25 and 2025-26, getting into four games with Carolina where he picked up two goals and one assist despite averaging less than 11 minutes per night overall.

Robidas is waiver-eligible moving forward and will need to pass through waivers unclaimed to return to the minors.  If he perceives that as the likely outcome, it’s certainly possible that he could give some consideration to trying his hand overseas in the hopes of it being a stepping stone toward a longer NHL look.  If nothing happens on that front, it’s likely that Robidas and the Hurricanes will get a two-way deal in place over the next few weeks.