After a period of relative inactivity, the player movement has really picked up the past few days, and several CHL clubs have gotten into the action, making several big pick-ups to strengthen their clubs. Leading the way is four teams landing ex-Lev Prague players.

by Derek O'Brien, with contributions from club sources

In the wake of the KHL club's recent downfall, the dismantling of the Lev Prague roster continues, and four CHL clubs made some additions this week. Two are going to Sweden -- defenceman Martin Ševc to Skellefteå AIK and winger Calle Ridderwall to HV71 Jönköping -- defenceman Marc-André Gragnani is going to Swiss club SC Bern and defenceman Juraj Mikúš is staying in Prague to play for Sparta.

Gragnani is coming off his first year in Europe, and dressed in 42 games for a Lev team with a very solid defensive corps, scoring 2 goals and adding 7 assists and 43 penalty minutes. His experience was relied upon in the playoffs, where he played in all 22 games and chipped in with 4 assists as Lev came within one game of winning the Gagarin Cup.

Mikúš doesn't have far to move, as Sparta and Lev shared Tipsport Arena. The 25-year-old Slovak spent the past two seasons with the KHL club in a defensive role. Previously he'd played in the AHL and the Slovak Extraliga.

Both Ševc and Ridderwall have Swedish ties. Ševc played 37 games for AIK in the 2012/13 season, scoring 3 goals and adding 10 assists with 48 penalty minutes. He then added 4 more points in 13 playoff games, helping AIK to the championship. For Ševc, now 32, it was his fourth Swedish title, having previously won three times with Färjestad BK Karlstad. He's also played in the Czech Extraliga and Swiss NLA. This past season, he had 29 points in 71 KHL regular season and playoff games and was a physical force for Lev in the playoffs. He then represented the Czech Republic at this spring's World Championship in Minsk.

"It feels great to Martin coming back to us. He has a lot of SHL experience and had a good season with us when he was here before," AIK general manager Lars Johansson said to Anna Hägglund on the team's website. "Martin is both a good player and personality so he will fit in well with us."

Ridderwall, 26, was born in Stockholm but hasn't played hockey in his native Sweden since he was 17, having played junior and college hockey in the United States, then playing professionally in the AHL, DEL and KHL before finally landing in Jönköping. Last season he had 7 goals and 11 assists in 68 regular season and playoff games with Lev. He is the nephew of former Swedish national team goalie Rolf Ridderwall.

"Calle did very well in Prague, who went to the KHL finals. During the playoffs, he played on their first line and was a major contributor to the club's success. In addition, he made ​​his debut on the Swedish national team," HV71 sports manager Johan Hult said to Johan Freijd on the club's website.

Another active Swedish team was the Växjö Lakers, who signed 28-year-old Nick Johnson. The Canadian right winger has played 113 NHL games with the Pittsburgh Penguins, Minnesota Wild, Phoenix Coyotes and Boston Bruins. He split last season between the Bruins and their AHL affiliate in Providence.

"He's played a lot in both the NHL and AHL. It's easy to look at the number of NHL games and judge after that, but you have to see to what role the player has had, and so on," Henrik Evertsson, the Lakers sports manager said in a club-issued press release. "Nick is an all-round guy with a good two-way game. He can produce, has good size, is smart and contributes a lot."

In Austria, 28-year-old Canadian Brett Carson signed with the Vienna Capitals. He played a defensive role for Solna AIK last year -- Carson's first in Europe. He'd spent most of the previous seven seasons in the AHL, where he was known for his offence from the back end, but also played 90 NHL games with the Carolina Hurricanes and Calgary Flames. For Vienna, this signing comes after aqcuiring KHLer Hugh Jessiman earlier in the week.

"I am really delighted that we were able to add him to our defence," head coach Tom Pokel said about Carson on the team's website. "He has distinguished himself in recent years by a hard and accurate shot, which will give us an additional weapon to use on the power play. Even more importantly, he is a right-handed shot. He has played at the highest level and most recently in one of the best leagues in Europe."

In Switzerland, EV Zug has lost centre Rob Schremp but signed veteran winger Pierre-Marc Bouchard the same day. The 30-year-old Canadian has 356 points in 593 NHL regular season games, mostly with the Minnestoa Wild. He's also added 9 points in 21 playoff games. A playmaker more than a scorer, his best season was 2007/08, when he scored 13 goals and added 50 assists for 63 points in 81 regular season games for the Wild, then added 2 goals and 2 assists in six playoff games.

In Germany, Adler Mannheim signed 29-year-old right winger Jamie Tardif. For Tardif, who has spent the last seven years in the AHL, save for a two-game call-up to Boston in 2012/13, this is his first time playing in a European league.

Finally, 29-year-old goaltender Iiro Tarkki moves from Linköping HC back to the Finnish Liiga, where he will play for defending champion Kärpät Oulu. Tarkki has previously played for Lukko Rauma and SaiPa Lappeenranta. He replaces Jussi Rynnäs, who signed with the Dallas Stars on Monday.

CHL club transfers this week:

NOTE: Updated to reflect the signings of Gragnani, Mäntylä, Hjelle and Mikúš.