Lukas Sedlak leaves Flyers to return home to Czechia
Philadelphia Flyers forward Lukas Sedlak is leaving the team to return home to Czechia.
"I just felt, overall, me playing in the NHL, it didn't bring me what I expected it to bring me," he said Saturday. "I would rather be home with my family. It's more than one reason, they kind of all combine together. That's why I made a decision. ... It's nothing with the organization, with the team, or anything like that."
He added that he would most likely end up playing for Pardubice in the Czech Extraliga.
The Flyers placed him on unconditional waivers.
Sedlak signed a one-year, $800,000 contract with the Colorado Avalanche in June after spending the previous three seasons in the KHL. He made the defending Stanley Cup champions' opening roster but was placed on waivers after three games.
The Flyers claimed him on Oct. 19, and he put up three goals and five assists while averaging 12:42 of ice time in 27 games.
Head coach John Tortorella addressed Sedlak's departure Saturday.
"He's just decided to go home. He's done playing here," Tortorella said, according to NHL.com's Adam Kimelman. "He wants to go back home. ... He's a good man. We're gonna miss him."
Sedlak played under Tortorella during his time in Columbus. The Blue Jackets drafted him in the sixth round in 2011, and he spent three seasons in Ohio, starting in 2016-17.
However, Sedlak opted to sign with Traktor Chelyabinsk of the KHL as a restricted free agent at the end of the 2018-19 campaign. He didn't return to the NHL until this season.
In all, Sedlak amassed 18 goals and 17 assists in 192 career NHL games.