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Report: Visnovsky considering European options

New York Islanders v Washington Capitals

WASHINGTON, DC - FEBRUARY 04: Lubomir Visnovsky #11 of the New York Islanders in action against the Washington Capitals at the Verizon Center on February 4, 2014 in Washington, DC. The New York Islanders won, 1-0. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)

Patrick Smith

Veteran defenseman Lubomir Visnovsky could be on his way overseas.

Per a report from Slovakian news outlet Novy Cas, Visnovsky is entertaining the option of starting the year in Europe -- possibly in the Czech or Swiss League -- while waiting on a potential NHL offer.

Back in late June, the 38-year-old -- who has spent the last three years in New York -- said he was “definitely” going to play next season, but Isles GM Garth Snow promptly threw cold water on a potential return to Long Island.

“I don’t anticipate Visnovsky coming back,” he explained. “So there’s potential for one of our young defensemen to earn a spot, whether it’s [Scott] Mayfield, [Ryan] Pulock, [Griffin] Reinhart, we’ll see what happens via the trade route at the draft and then look into free agency.”

Since then, the Isles traded Reinhart to Edmonton and were pretty quiet in free agency, with the only real splash on defense coming in the form of Thomas Hickey’s three-year extension.

If the Isles don’t eventually come calling -- and it looks highly unlikely they will -- Visnovsky will be hard-pressed to catch on elsewhere. While he had a decent offensive campaign in ’14-15, with 20 points in 53 games, he struggled defensively at times, and often looked a step slow.