NEWARK, N.J. — Andrej Sustr was with the Tampa Bay Lightning, preparing to play a game against the Winnipeg Jets, when he got word he had been placed on waivers with the intention of sending him to the Syracuse Crunch of the AHL. Then he got another call and he was on his way to join the Ducks.

“It was a pleasant surprise,” Sustr said.

The Ducks claimed Sustr, a 31-year-old defenseman, off waivers Tuesday and stuck him in their lineup Thursday. His first game in his second stint with the Ducks went as smoothly as could be expected. He was paired with Cam Fowler and played nearly 19 minutes against Nashville.

“I thought he kept his game simple and moved the puck ahead,” Ducks assistant coach Geoff Ward said. “I thought he was good for his first game with us.”

By now, Sustr should be accustomed to moving from team to team, meeting new teammates, playing for different coaches and making the best of a new situation. It would be an understatement to say he has been well-traveled since leaving his native Czech Republic as a 17-year-old.

Sustr began his career with the Kenai River (Alaska) Brown Bears of the junior-level North American Hockey League. He moved on to the Youngstown (Ohio) Phantoms of the United States Hockey League and then to the University of Nebraska-Omaha.

His résumé includes stops with the Lightning and Ducks in the NHL, the Crunch and San Diego Gulls of the AHL and two seasons with Beijing-based Kunlun Red Star of the Kontinental Hockey League. This season, he returned to the NHL, rejoining the Lightning and now the Ducks.

“Sometimes playing in North America can get pretty daunting with the business side of it,” Sustr said of his decision to reset his career by playing in the KHL. “Playing over there was more like just playing for fun, you know? I got a different mindset about stuff and I think that helped me get a different perspective on things. I was ready to come back and see if I could make it back to the NHL.”

Sustr scored one goal in 15 games with Tampa Bay and had two goals and 10 assists in 25 games with Syracuse this season before the Ducks claimed him, seeking to bolster their defense corps for the season’s stretch run. Sustr was with the Ducks organization in 2018-19.

He played for Ducks coach Dallas Eakins when both were in San Diego.

“The whole season, I’ve been kind of up and down, taking it day by day, living out of a suitcase,” Sustr said. “I was ready to go back to Syracuse. When Anaheim called, it was a pleasant surprise. Someone saw value in me coming to play. It’s a huge compliment to me. I’m grateful for the opportunity and to see what I can do with it.”

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