Panthers defenseman Filip Kuba Joins Czech League's Vitkovice Steel

Florida Panthers blueliner Filip Kuba (above in 2011) signed a standard lockout deal with HC Vitkovice of the Czech Republic's Tipsport Extraliga on Friday, per the club's official site.

Kuba, 35, previously played a handful of games for the organization between 1994 and '96, which wrapped around his drafting by Florida in 1995 (8th round/192). The 6'-4" native of Ostrava went on to appear in 18 contests with the Panthers before being dealt to Calgary in exchange for brawler Rocky Thompson on March 16, 2000. Yes: a one-for-one transaction.

He went on to collect a total of 323 points (69G) over 792 NHL games with the Cats, Minnesota Wild, Tampa Bay Lightning, and Ottawa Senators. As an unrestricted free agent, Kuba inked a two-year deal with Florida on July 1 of this year worth $8M over the term with a reported cap hit of $4M per season. He is the presumptive heir apparent to departed blueliner Jason Garrison as a bumper crop of young defensive talent matures in San Antonio.