Komets General Manager David Franke said this afternoon that the team has broken off negotiations with forward J.C. Ruid. Ruid is expected to sign with Chicago, but how long he plays there is anyone's guess.
``He has a strong desire to play in Europe, and he could not commit to play the entire season in Fort Wayne,'' Franke said. ``He's going to keep looking to play in Europe, probably all the way until the first of the year. We've been down that road and that was not a good thing that happened to our club. We've been burnt by that before, and that's not something we want to take a chance on.''
The Komets lost forward and leading scorer Mark Smith last season after 25 games to go to Europe. Two years ago they also lost defenseman Jeff White who signed in June but broke the contract in August to play in Europe.
Franke said the Komets have a couple of potential players in mind to fill Ruid's slot, including a couple of veterans. The team will also announce some more training camp roster additions this week.
``We'll just keep looking and see what happens,'' Franke said. "There's a lot of teams in the ECHL who have over-recruited, and there will be a lot of players coming available, maybe even this week. If the right guy comes along or another is ready to make a commitment, then we'll have eight veterans to start out.''
