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Market heating up for prized Czech d-man Rutta

JanRutta

Coming off an impressive performance for the Czech Republic at the World Hockey Championship, Jan Rutta is now being courted by a number of NHL clubs.

Per The Athletic, the Blackhawks are in contention for securing Rutta’s services. That comes on the heels of earlier reports from TSN’s Darren Dreger, who said there are “multiple” offers for the 26-year-old, including ones from Edmonton and Calgary.

“He’s a steady defenseman with size, and he had a strong finish of the season,” an NHL scout told The Athletic. “He was very good in the playoffs and played his best at the Worlds.”

Rutta, who was never drafted by an NHL club, has spent his professional career with Czech League outfit Pirati Chomutov. He’s blossomed into a talented offensive defenseman -- finishing second among Czech League d-men with 32 points in 46 games this year -- and, as mentioned above, has good size at 6-foot-3, 200 pounds.

Last week, Rutta’s agent -- longtime Octagon Hockey representative Allan Walsh -- tweeted that his client would make a decision on NHL offers soon.