NHL Panther Will Have to Wait: Pittsburgh Sends Galvas Back to Liberec

The Pittsburgh Penguins have trimmed their preseason roster by nine players, and among those cut was Czech defenceman Tomáš Galvas, who — just as expected — is now heading back to Liberec to play in the Czech Extraliga.

The three-time world junior championship medallist managed to play just one preseason game for Pittsburgh's main roster, a 4–7 loss to Detroit. In that outing Galvas finished with a minus-3 rating. He had earned his spot at the main camp a week earlier after impressing at the rookie camp with two goals — one from a shootout-style attempt and another on a spectacular solo end-to-end rush.

What Liberec Had Been Saying

Back on Sunday, after his club's win over Liberec, Kladno coach Radim Rulík noted that, in his view, Galvas had a solid chance of sticking with the Penguins at their main camp. Pittsburgh's decision, however, has settled the matter.

Even before the start of this season, White Tigers sporting director Michal Birner had predicted exactly this outcome. "He'll be with us, and we all know just how good a player he is. At the same time, there are still plenty of flaws in his game, and it's our job to be honest with him rather than just tell him what he wants to hear. We want him to keep developing — whether that's through me, coach Jiří Kudrna, or captain Radim Šimek. He still has huge room to grow," Birner explained.

Plans for the New Season

Galvas will now be showing off his offensive skills back in Liberec colours. Ahead of the season, the player himself spoke about his ambitions: "This will be my fourth season in the Extraliga, so I suppose I can no longer really call myself a young player. People expect results from me now, certain numbers. As a team, of course, we want to go as far as possible in the playoffs — that's our goal."

The White Tigers' next match is on Thursday, away to Hradec Králové, though it remains unclear whether Galvas will be ready to play already in that game. On Sunday, the team hosts Třinec at home.

Around Prague, based on reporting by sport.cz