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Crosby looking “a little harder” at playing in Europe

NHLPA Member Meeting

NEW YORK, NY - SEPTEMBER 13: Sidney Crosby of the Pittsburgh Penguins meets with the media following the NHLPA meeting at Marriott Marquis Times Square on September 13, 2012 in New York City. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

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There’s been plenty of talk during the lockout of Sidney Crosby playing overseas.

Now, Crosby is talking about it as well.

The Pittsburgh captain admitted on Thursday he’s going to start looking closer at what European opportunities might be available after being a first-hand witness to failed negotiations between the NHL and NHLPA.

“A little harder, yeah,” Crosby told the Canadian Press about looking at his options. “I think that’s something that everyone’s got to figure out. You try to figure out where things stand and I don’t think they’re in a great spot right now.”

The subject of Crosby playing in Europe has been bandied about for weeks, ever since agent Pat Brisson said he was “entertaining conversations with teams and leagues overseas.”

Brisson admitted those conversations were in their infancy and that no deal was imminent, but also suggested talks would become more serious if the lockout persisted.

Since the lockout has persisted, one can assume conversations have heated up.

Now, the big sticking point about Crosby playing overseas is insuring his contract...given, you know, the whole concussion thing.

The 12-year, $104.4 million pact Crosby signed with Pittsburgh in June could reportedly cost $400k per month to insure, a steep price for a number of European clubs.

For example, consider this recent Postmedia article about the “business” of KHL clubs:

The KHL does not have a feasible business model. It survives off many hundreds of millions of dollars from oligarchs whose dubious fortunes were amassed when they ruthlessly bought up huge state enterprises for a song during the brutal months that followed the collapse of the Soviet Union.

“The KHL is not a realistic business project,” said Roman Belyaev, marketing manager for Metallurg Novokuznetsk, based in a city of 600,000 people tucked away in central Siberia. “There are only four or five good businesses in the whole league.”

And this is the financial landscape of what many (including Alex Ovechkin) regard as the best league going. So yeah.