There comes a time when a player has pretty much done all he can in North America. Even though he was drafted by Montreal Canadiens in the 4th round of 2003 (#114 overall), has 573 AHL regular season and another 62 playoff games to his credit; plus 2 Calder Cup Championships (Binghamton 2011 and Hamilton 2007), has scored 197 goals and added 383 assists for a total of 580 points and has plenty of other accolades including league MVP to his credit, sometimes it’s just time.
28-year old center Corey Locke(84) signed on with TPS of SM-liiga for the 2012/2013 season as he becomes an unrestricted free agent after signing a two-year deal in 2010 with Ottawa Senators.
Odds are the quick thinking, skillful 5’9″ 175 lbs. playmaker will continue to produce a point per game even in the new environment.
It comes as a bit of a surprise that he would leave to go play in Europe as his two-way contract pays him pretty well and another team could easily use his services for another couple of seasons, but again, seems like more of a timing issue; and the level of hockey he’s entering will keep him at the top of his game.
Ironically he earned his only NHL point, an assist, last season. He’s appeared in only 9 big league games.
See related posts: 1/15/11, 5/6/11, 6/5/11.
