David Krejci confirmed weeks ago that hed be playing with HC Pardubice of the Czech League, but the deal was being hung up by insurance costs that are preventing many NHL players from jumping to Europe.
Pardubice GM Petr Hemsky finally confirmed the deal as officially done Wednesday on the teams web site, and Krejci should be finally headed to his home country of the Czech Republic by this weekend at the latest. The Pardubice home arena is within 90 minutes of Krejcis hometown, and gives him the unique opportunity to play in front of family and friends for the first time since he was a teenager.
According to TSN analyst and former Bruins defenseman Aaron Ward, the price for Krejcis insurance policyto protect him in case of injury while playing in Europewas in the neighborhood of 240,000. Krejcis pricey contract extension was set to kick in for the 2012-13 season, and contributed largely to the eye-popping insurance policy for the playmaking center.
The Bs center is the ninth Boston player to head overseas while the NHL is in lockout mode, and Krejci joins Ales Hemsky and Jakub Kindl as exiled NHL players skating for the Czech League team.
As with other Bruins players Krejci has an out clause in his contract that allows him to return to Boston when the NHL lockout is finally over.
The nine Bs players signed by EuropeanKHL teams include Krejci, Andrew Ference, Tuukka Rask, Anton Khudobin, Zdeno Chara, Rich Peverley, Patrice Bergeron, Tyler Seguin and Dennis Seidenberg.