Damien Brunner

Playing career

Damien Brunner's professional career kicked off with the Kloten Flyers in Switzerland's National League A during the 2006–07 and 2007–08 seasons. He then switched to EV Zug for the 2008–09 campaign. His standout year came in 2011–12, when he notched 60 points across 45 games, topping the NLA in scoring and earning the league's forward of the year award. On July 1, 2012, he inked a one-year entry-level deal with the NHL's Detroit Red Wings. Because of the 2012–13 NHL lockout, he went back to EV Zug until the labor dispute ended, then joined the Red Wings for the shortened season. In just his second game, he buried the game-winning shootout goal against the Columbus Blue Jackets, and the very next day he scored his first NHL goal, beating Dallas Stars goaltender Kari Lehtonen. Brunner also represented Switzerland at the 2010 IIHF World Championship.

After rejecting multi-year offers from Detroit—both two and three-year proposals—he became an unrestricted free agent. On September 16, 2013, he signed a professional tryout contract with the New Jersey Devils, attended their training camp, and on September 24, 2013, secured a two-year, $5 million contract with the team. On December 5, 2014, the Devils put him on waivers after he sat out the entire third period of a 5–3 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs the night before. He cleared waivers the next day, having managed just 2 goals and 5 assists in 17 games. Uninterested in playing in the AHL, Brunner and the Devils mutually terminated his contract on December 12, 2014, and he headed back to Switzerland, signing a five-year, CHF 6 million deal with HC Lugano.

Late in the 2017–18 regular season, a broken leg sidelined him for the remainder of the regular season and the playoffs. On May 19, 2018, with one year left on his Lugano contract, the two sides parted ways, and he immediately signed a two-year, CHF 2 million contract with EHC Biel. On August 26, 2019, Biel gave him an early three-year extension that ran through the 2022–23 season. After spending over six seasons with Biel, injuries limited him to just six games in 2024–25, and he announced his retirement on January 24, 2025.