Uniondale, NY – The New York Islanders have suspended Lubomir Visnovsky after the defenseman failed to report to the club following the lockout.
Visnovsky had been playing in the Kontinental Hockey League during the work stoppage and wanted to continue with Slovan Bratislava for the remainder of the 2012-13 season. The KHL and NHL, however, have an agreement that states a player under contract in the NHL must return to North America once the lockout was lifted.
The Islanders acquired Visnovsky in a trade with Anaheim last June, but the defenseman filed a grievance with NHLPA in an effort to have the deal voided based on a no-trade clause within his contract. He had waived the clause when the Ducks acquired him from Edmonton in 2010.
Just days before the start of the lockout, however, an arbitrator ruled that the 36-year-old veteran should remain with the Islanders.
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