Dennis Seidenberg isn't quite sure what the future holds after the World Cup of Hockey.
The German-born defenseman made his debut for Europe in Sunday's exhibition loss to North America, and while he gets ready for the tournament to begin, he's left wondering where he'll play once the NHL regular season starts having had his contract with the Boston Bruins bought out this summer.
"I’ve kind of turned the page," Seidenberg told Fluto Shinzawa of the Boston Globe. "But then again, my family’s still in Boston. They started school in Boston. So you always think about something you’re still with but you’re not. So it was something that was obviously disappointing. But it doesn’t really matter right now. I have to go into this tournament, play my game, and hopefully something comes up."
The 35-year-old was set to earn $7.5 million over the two remaining years on his contract with the Bruins, but will now collect $4,666,667 in buyout money over the next four years.
Seidenberg played an important role in the Bruins' Stanley Cup win back in 2011, but has been slowed by both injuries and Father Time in recent years. Still, he feels he has some gas left in the tank, and will look to make the most of opportunities afforded him by European head coach Ralph Kruger to limit chances by the opposition while boosting his own on the open market.
"I just have to focus on playing my game," Seidenberg said. "There’s no magic to it. It’s playing a simple style of hockey. That’s basically it. I don’t have to try and do something I can’t do. That’s going to go the other way if you do that."
Based on Europe's performance in the pre-tournament games, he'll likely only have a few more opportunities to impress, unless Europe can somehow manage to advance to the semifinal round.
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