Washington Capitals Jason Chimera returns to US from Czech Republic -NHL Lockout Update
The lockout takes a toll even on those players who find opportunities abroad as Washington Capitals’ left winger, Jason Chimera, made a comeback to the United States on Wednesday, according to his agent Allan Walsh.
Chimera, an 11-season veteran of the National Hockey League (NHL), made his return to North America after playing in just five games with the HC Chomutov of the Czech Extraliga. The reason for his leaving at such an early stage was due to personal reasons,
more specifically because of family.
He had earlier cited his not leaving sooner due to not wanting to leaving behind his wife and two young children, but decided to take a shot at how the experience would be later on into the lockout, which has now entered well over two months ever since the
previous collective bargaining agreement came to an end.
“He wasn’t able to live here separated from family, especially his children,” Chomutov manager Leo Gudas told TV Nova Sport.
Another revelation made by the Czech Republic team’s website was that the 33-year-old may consider coming back to Europe if the entire 2012-2013 NHL regular season is cancelled out. In that case, Chimera will most likely be taking along his whole family
for the ride as well instead of leaving them behind.
Jason Chimera is a former 121st overall draft pick of the fifth round, dating back to the 1997 NHL Entry Draft by the Edmonton Oilers. Being a native of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, Chimera continued to play with his original draft team and their
affiliates in the American Hockey League (AHL), the Hamilton Bulldogs, before moving out to Columbus to play with the Blue Jackets and finally his last few seasons with the Washington Capitals.
Chimera is currently locked on to a two-year contract with the Washington Capitals, worth a total of $3.5 million, with an annual salary cap hit of $1.75 million. It will be interesting to see what the veteran forward decided on doing in the upcoming days
and whether the lockout will last throughout the entire season or not, which will ultimately decide his fate as well.
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