Seidenberg likely to play in Germany for lockout

Share

Its only a matter of time now for Bruins defenseman Dennis Seidenberg before he leaves the Bruins, and heads back to his native Germany until the NHL lockout ends.

The Bruins defenseman indicated to CSNNE.com on Tuesday hell remain in Boston for the next week, but he is most likely headed to Europe next week to reunite with younger brother Yanick on the Mannheim Eagles team he opened his career with in Germany.

The two Seidenberg brothers -- Yanick is three years younger and a 5-foot-7 forward -- played portions of one season together in Mannheim back in 2001-02, but are now looking forward to have a chance to play together in their primes. Seidenberg did say that hes going to keep a careful eye on how many games he plays in Germany with the idea that a bunched-up shortened schedule might be waiting for him when the NHL gets going.

Once it starts theyre probably going to press a lot of games into the months and it will be a lot on top of going over to Europe," Seidenberg said. "Ill have to consider that and be careful how I manage my time. Im German so if I go back there I wont count as an import. I can always go back there. If I go back to Germany Ill play with Mannheim with my brother. It would be nice to be reunited with him.

Seidenberg was regretful that it took an NHL lockout to make it happen and still holds out hope that something might spark up the CBA negotiations in the next couple of weeks.

But hes also wary of the damage that a prolonged work stoppage -- and the radio silence that goes along with it -- could do to the NHL product.

Every time theres a work stoppage and theres no media coverage out there, then people lose interest in the game, said Seidenberg. Hockey isnt a sport like football or baseball where a large group of people live for it. We need to coverage to be out there to keep it going and to keep the game popular.

The 31-year-old defenseman is also firming up his plans to head back to Europe around the same time Bruins center David Krejci will be heading back to the Czech Republic. Seidenbergs best season for Mannheim came the year after he selected by the Philadelphia Flyers in the seventh round of the 2001 draft, and he posted seven goals and 20 points in 55 games before leaving for North America where he's spent the last 10 seasons.

As with most players that retreat to Europe during NHL work stoppages, Seidenberg is expected to have an out clause in his contract that allows him to return to North America when the NHL regular season begins.

Contact Us