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Tyler Seguin prepares to join Swiss club

Print | Comments () Posted by Kevin Paul Dupont, Globe Staff September 20, 2012 01:34 PM

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By Kevin Paul Dupont, Globe Staff

With NHL training camps locked out and the league's 2012-'13 season in jeopardy, Bruins phenom Tyler Seguin has decided not to wait around and is finalizing plans to play in Switzerland.

According to Ian Pulver, the agent who just days ago negotiated Seguin's six-year contract extension with Boston, Seguin could be on his way within 48 hours to play for Biel, located northeast of Geneva, in the Swiss Elite League.

"The wheels are in motion, so to speak," said Pulver, reached by telephone in his Ontario office. "There are still details to work out--transfer card, all the usual stuff--but that is the plan. He should be on his way imminently."

Comcast's Joe Haggerty was among the first locally to report Seguin's plans.

Seguin, on the books to earn some $3.5 million this season with the Bruins, undoubtedly will earn far less with Biel. Due approximately $40 million in future earnings with the Bruins over the next seven years, he will need hefty insurance, costing in the range of $25,000-$40,000 per month, to play in Biel. The Swiss club will pay that expense.

Looks like I'm wearing number 9 for EHC Biel in Switzerland till the lockouts done. Excited to play next week. #illmissthebruinsfans
— Tyler Seguin (@tylerseguin92) September 20, 2012

If the NHL lockout ends, Seguin, like all NHLers who have joined other pro leagues, will be free to rejoin the Bruins immediately.

Seguin, who will turn 21 in January, led the Bruins' scoring chart last season with 29 goals and 67 points in 81 games.

''Biel was the club that expressed the most interest in Tyler,'' said Pulver, noting that Seguin also drew interest from clubs in the Russian-based Kontinental Hockey League. ''There are a few other Canadian boys on the team, too. So, all in all, it came down to feeling that Biel was the right fit for him.''

Seguin has played a total of 175 NHL games, all but 20 in the regular season, with the Bruins. Had that number been less than 160, the Bruins would have had the right to assign Seguin to the American Hockey League (Providence) during the lockout. As things stand now, if fans of the WannaBs want to see him, they'll have to book air tickets to Geneva.