Former Edmonton Oilers head coach Ralph Krueger says he turned down a pair of job offers from NHL clubs and is focused on his role as chairman of Premier League soccer side Southampton.
"It was nice and honorable that I was offered two NHL jobs postseason and I was happy they didn't forget about me but I turned them down," Krueger told NBC Pro Soccer Talk's Joe Prince-Wright in an interview published Tuesday.
"It just feels like we've only just got started here (in England) and especially with the management re-organization we just did, there is kind of like there's something here where we are going to take it to another level."
Krueger guided Team Europe's unexpected run to the World Cup of Hockey final last fall, and that performance was expected to earn him interest from NHL teams.
ESPN's Pierre LeBrun reported Tuesday that new Buffalo Sabres general manager Jason Botterill wants to talk to Krueger, who's still keeping tabs on hockey despite his soccer commitments.
"I still love the game and I have lots of friends still in the playoffs, I am keeping a close eye on them," he said. My son is playing at the World Ice Hockey Championships for Germany right now in Germany and all of that ... but it is Southampton. At the moment this is doing it. I don't think you ever close the door on anything in your life but I love being here."
Southampton is seeking its fourth straight top-eight finish, sitting in eighth place in the EPL table through 36 matches. Krueger joined the Saints as director in January 2014 and was promoted to chairman about two months later.
He lasted only one season as Oilers head coach, compiling a 19-22-7 record in the lockout-shortened 2012-13 campaign.
- With h/t to Puck Daddy
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