Former Vancouver Canucks defenseman Lukas Krajicek will stay in the KHL next season after signing a two-year contract extension at Dynamo Minsk, the Belarusian team said Wednesday.
Krajicek, 29, played 328 games in the NHL before leaving in 2010 when he was released by the Philadelphia Flyers.
The Minsk team, known as the Buffaloes, fought off several other teams to re-sign Krajicek, general manager Igor Matushkin said.
“I won’t deny that there was real interest in the player on the part of several other clubs,” he said on the Dynamo Minsk website.
“We’re pleased we managed to sign Krajicek for another two years. It’s important that the player likes the team and the city.”
The contract was registered with the KHL on Tuesday, the club said.
Krajicek notched up two goals and 12 assists in 40 regular-season KHL games last season, finishing with a +9 rating.
Dynamo Minsk finished 13th of 23 teams in the 2011-12 regular season standings and crashed out in the first round of the playoffs with a 4-0 series defeat to eventual Gagarin Cup winner Dynamo Moscow.
Czech coach Marek Sikora was fired after the playoff shutout defeat and replaced in April by Kari Heikkila, who will combine the Dynamo Minsk job with his role as coach of the Belarus national team.
