Rumor: Veteran of over 700 games “exploring” a return to the NHL.

I have to wonder about this one a little. 

According to a report from St. Louis Blues insider Andy Strickland of Fox Sports it now appears that long time National Hockey League veteran forward Patrik Berglund is "exploring" a possible return to the NHL. The move comes off the heels of a shocking decision from Berglund last season in which he walked away from his NHL contract and over $10 million in the process for doing so, and that in my estimation will be the biggest obstacle he will have to overcome this offseason. 

There's little doubt that the 31 year old with over 700 career games in the NHL still has something to offer a number of teams around the league, but the stigma surrounding him after he left the Buffalo Sabres organization high and dry may make some teams reluctant to give him a fair shake. Now of course we do not know what truly motivated Berglund to take his ball and go home last season, but it is extremely uncommon for a player of his stature to merely void his contract and refuse to play for the organization with which he is currently contracted. The risk of him doing so again if he does not like the situation he is in or he suffers from the same issue that troubled him last season makes him a big time gamble for any NHL general manager.

Again though Berglund comes with 717 games of NHL experience under his belt and has made plenty of trips to the postseason as well as a member of the St. Louis Blues. Over his career he has accumulated 170 goals, 156 assists for a total of 326 career points in the league. For what it's worth I do hope that he can overcome whatever it was that impacted him last season and hopefully his career will end on a much more positive note overall.