The list of players leaving the Gophers for the NHL grew longer Sunday when Connor Kurth signed a two-year contract with the Tampa Bay Lightning, foregoing his final season of college eligibility
That made it five Gophers who have left the program to sign NHL deals since the season ended with Thursday’s NCAA tournament loss to Massachusetts. The other four were all first-round NHL picks: Jimmy Snuggerud (Blues), Sam Rinzel and Oliver Moore (Blackhawks) and Matthew Wood (Predators).
Tampa Bay drafted Kurth in the sixth round of the 2022 NHL draft. He will report to Syracuse in the AHL.
Kurth, from Lindstrom, Minn., joins the Lightning franchise coming off a career season for the Gophers. He had 18 goals and 21 assists, and his 39 points were tied with Wood for second on the team behind Snuggerud’s 51.
In 115 career games over three seasons for the Gophers, Kurth had 32 goals, 39 assists and posted a plus-34 rating.
