Buffalo Sabres defenseman Christian Ehrhoff signs with DEL's Krefeld Penguins -NHL Update
Former Vancouver Canucks defenseman and leading defender of the Buffalo Sabres, Christian Ehrhoff, is returning to his native country of Germany to play with the Krefeld Penguins of the German Ice Hockey League, officially known as the Deutsch Eishockey
Liga.
Ehrhoff is one of the leading defensemen in the National Hockey League (NHL) and was acquired prior to the 2011-2012 NHL regular season by Buffalo Sabres. He is a former 106th overall draft pick in round-four of the 2001 NHL Entry Draft by San
Jose Sharks.
The 30-year-old spent five seasons with his original draft team, San Jose Sharks, before moving to Vancouver and playing with the Canucks in the next two, in which he reached the 2011 Stanley Cup Finals.
Ehrhoff’s move to Buffalo was considered to bring about a major boost for the struggling Sabres as they got a new ownership and a lot of money pumped into the system but still failed to make the playoffs. Being a player that potted 50 points (14 goals, 36
assists), Ehrhoff failed to do the same in Buffalo while giving 32 points (5 goals, 27 assists) in 66 games played.
One thing that forced Ehrhoff to go back and play in Germany was not as much the lockout, which could last an entire season, but instead, the feeling of being at home and where he wanted to be.
"I really wanted to come to Krefeld because I was here during the summer and I felt at home," Ehrhoff said in German and translated into English. "The club is in my heart."
"It's the ideal situation for the team and me," Ehrhoff added. "The guys know me, I know the guys."
Most of his summer was spent with Krefeld and now getting the chance to return for potentially a full season is something Ehrhoff was looking for in this sort of situation, but is reported to be able to return to the NHL if the lockout will lasts for a lesser
amount of time than expected.
"He's hoping to turn a negative into a positive," Ehrhoff’s agent, Richard Curran, said according to SportsIllustrated.cnn.com.
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