Martin Havlat‘s bizarre experience in the NHL this season appears to have come to an end.
The 34-year-old Havlat is seeking an unconditional release from the St. Louis Blues due to personal reasons, president of hockey operations and general manager Doug Armstrong announced Friday.
The Blues have placed the winger on unconditional waivers after he played just two games for them and scored the game-winning goal versus New Jersey on Tuesday.
In Thursday night’s loss to the New York Rangers, Havlat saw his ice time drop from the 14:14 he saw against the Devils down to just 7:33.
“Havlat has asked for privacy at this time and neither he or the Blues will have any further comment on the matter,” the club announced.
The veteran free agent was originally brought in by the Blues on a professional tryout and signed a one-year contract on Nov. 6. After failing to land a contract in the off-season, Havlat tried out for the Florida Panthers in September but failed to land a job.
“I still love the game, so I just want to play hockey and I want to be part of it,” Havlat told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch earlier this week.
Havlat spent 2014-15 with the Devils, notching five goals and nine assists in 40 games.
Originally a first-round pick of the Ottawa Senators, Havlat has scored 242 goals and registered 594 points in 790 games over the course of his career with stops in Ottawa, Chicago, Minnesota, San Jose, New Jersey, and St. Louis.
