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Lupul Leaving A Sign Of Long Term Lockdown?

October 30, 2012, 11:49 PM ET [214 Comments]
Mike Augello
Toronto Maple Leafs Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT
The news of Joffrey Lupul signing today with Avtomoblist of the KHL does not come as any kind of great shock. The 29 year old winger hinted that he had made inquiries and was open to the possibility in mid-September, just before the lockout was announced at the Leafs practice facility in Etobicoke.

“The answer is yes at some point in time……I guess as it(the lockout) progresses…at some point, there is going to be a time when guys start looking over there because we want to play. It’s been a long off-season for me and I’ve worked extremely hard and I’m in good shape and I’m ready to play hockey.”

Lupul’s 2011-12 season was immensely successful, as he scored at a point per game pace partnering with Phil Kessel to make up one of the league’s most potent offensive duos, but his season ended with a shoulder injury last March. With the distinct possibility of the whole season being cancelled, the Masterton Trophy nominee has to be thinking of his immediate future, which could be with another NHL team.

“I want to play in Toronto. But on the other hand, I have missed one year of my (NHL) career to a lockout already, and it would be tough to sit out a second year to a second owner’s lockout.”

Lupul spent the 2004-05 lockout playing for Anaheim’s AHL affiliate in Cincinnati, as he was on his entry level deal. This time around, he is on a one way deal and only has the option to stay in North America and practice with other locked out players or get live game action in the KHL.

The Leafs winger is likely to get plenty of work with Avtomobilst, who are located in the city of Yekaterinburg, historically notable for being the birthplace of former Russian president Boris Yeltsin and where Tsar Nicholas II and the entire Romanov family were assassinated in 1918. The club is dead last in the KHL with a 3-15-1-1-1 record and in spite of having former NHL star Alexei Yashin on the roster, they have scored a league low 42 goals.

One has to begin to wonder whether Lupul’s decision to finally make the jump were for conditioning and keeping his skills sharp or because the lack of progress in CBA talks convinced him that the lockout is on the irreversible road towards a season-long shutdown.

Have we seen the last of Joffrey Lupul in Blue and White???

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