Skip navigation
Favorites
Sign up to follow your favorites on all your devices.
Sign up

Report: Giroux to join KHL, or Jagr’s Czech league team

Claude Giroux

Philadelphia Flyers’ Claude Giroux (28) carries the puck in the third period of an NHL hockey game against the Pittsburgh Penguins in Pittsburgh, Thursday, Dec. 29, 2011. The Flyers won 4-2. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

AP

Claude Giroux has his sights set on playing in Europe during the lockout. He just isn’t sure which league he’ll join.

That’s the word from the Courier-Post’s Dave Isaac, who reports the Flyers star has narrowed down his choices to the KHL or Czech Extraliga.

According to Isaac, Giroux’s agent said he’s in discussions with “many teams” about his client’s future -- but whispers suggest it’ll either be Avangard Omsk or Kladno, the team owned by Jaromir Jagr.

Avangard has reportedly been in talks to acquire Giroux for some time, according to Russian News outlet Sports-Express. The club has already secured the services of a locked-out NHLer -- Columbus’ Nikita Nikitin -- and is loaded with ex-NHLers like Alexander Perezhogin, Karri Ramo, Anssi Salmela, Alexander Frolov and Martin Skoula.

Kladno is also no slouch when it comes to employing current and former NHLers -- Tomas Kaberle, Tomas Plekanec, Marek Zidlicky, Jiri Tlusty, Jiri Bicek, Jan Hlavac, Ivan Majesky and Pavel Patera all currently suit up for the team -- and is a frontrunner because of the relationship between Giroux and Jagr.

That said, the Jagr link also applies to Avangard. That’s where No. 68 played for three seasons before returning to North America in 2011.