With the NHL lockout starting this week, NHL players and superstars have signed deals to play for overseas teams during the break.
Many players made the same move the last time the NHL was locked out, to help keep up with conditioning and also for competitive play. European hockey leagues are considered the best in the world apart from the NHL.
Pittsburgh's Evgeni Malkin, last season's MVP award winner, along with Ottawa's Sergei Gonchar signed contracts with Mettalurg of the Kontinental Hockey League over the weekend.
The team plays in the Russian industrial city of Magnitogorsk, where Malkin was born. He also played with the team before joining the NHL.
New Jersey Devils' star Ilya Kovalchuk also signed a contract over the weekend, agreeing to a deal with SKA St. Petersburg, which is also part of the KHL. Last season Kovalchuk led the Devils to the Stanley Cup finals, scoring 37 goals and tallying 46 assists.
San Jose Sharks captain Joe Thornton agreed to sign in Davos, Switzerland, which is the same move he made eight years ago during the last lockout.
"Yes, just because my wife is from there, she has a home there, we go there five weeks in the summer to see her family and I actually train with Davos when I'm over there," Thornton told ESPN.com on Monday. "I know the team real well, and they know me. It's a natural fit for me to go back there and play."
New Rangers star Rick Nash, who was traded from Columbus in the offseason, agreed to play in Davos according to sources from ESPN. Nash also played with Thornton for the team during the last lockout.
"If you find the right spot, it can be a real good experience, you meet some nice people and you get to keep playing hockey," Thornton said. "It worked out well for us I thought."
Other players who have signed contracts or agreed to play overseas include New York Islanders defenseman Mark Streit, who will play in Switzerland with his hometown team in Bern, Philadelphia Flyers winger Ruslan Fedotenko to HC Donbass in Russia and Dallas Stars winger Jaromir Jagr, who will play for Kladno in the Czech Republic.
Since the lockout is still fresh, many other big name players could follow suit as training camp and games get cancelled.
Pittsburgh superstar Sidney Crosby has expressed interest in playing elsewhere, but has yet to make a decision. Rangers star Brad Richards has said he might skip playing during the break and instead will concentrate on training and conditioning.
KHL teams who sign NHL players must follow certain rules, including that the salaries of NHL players they sign must not exceed 65 percent of what they earn under their NHL deals.
Most deals also contain an opt-out clause for players for when the lockout officially ends, allowing them to return to the NHL.
The NHL and the players association haven't had any had any formal meetings since last Wednesday, but have had some informal discussions since imposing the lockout on Saturday.
With many players signing overseas, it looks as though players feel the lockout will last for some amount of time. The last time there was a labor dispute, the lockout lasted for the entire 2004-05 season.
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