Visnovsky Makes Headlines with Crash and Grievance

This was Lubomir Visnovsky's Ferrari racecar after crashing it in Slovakia Saturday afternoon. He escaped without injury per media reports. Photo Credit: Slovakia Ring Facebook

This weekend was quite a busy one for New York Islanders defenseman Lubomir Visnovsky. While spending his off season in Slovakia, he managed to crash his Ferrari while auto racing and found out he will have a September 4 hearing over the grievance he filed with the league to prevent him from being traded from Anaheim to Long Island.

First things first, with the auto crash. Pro Hockey Talk posted this story on the Saturday afternoon accident. It appears he was racing a Ferrari in a GT racing series that features high-end cars such as Lamboriginhi and Ferrari. From reading various reports, it appeared that Visnovsky lost control at a high rate of speed while entering a corner and crashed head first into a barrier. He was able to walk away from the crash without injuries and did speak with the Islanders as the team issued this statement on the accident:

It was reported earlier today that defenseman, Lubomir Visnovsky was in an automobile accident, taking place in Slovakia.  Below is a brief statement from Islanders General Manager, Garth Snow about the situation.

“I have spoken directly with Lubomir, and am pleased to report that he did not suffer any serious injuries.”

If you can read Slovak or want to translate it to English, there was local coverage about the accident here. Puck Daddy also posted an amateur video of the accident with still photos. The crash itself happens off-camera. If you were wondering if the team gave him permission to race: Yes they did.

Larry Brooks of the New York Post reported today that Visnovsky will have a hearing September 4 featuring the Ducks and Islanders in an attempt to block his trade to Long Island that happened on NHL draft night. What this centers around is that Visnovsky did not consent to waive his no-trade clause he and the NHLPA contend should  still be in force, even after he agreed to a previous trade from the Oilers to  the Ducks in 2009-10. Things can become a bit awkward no matter what happens in the end, because remaining with the Islanders basically sends a message to the rest of the team he doesn’t want to be there. And if he returns to Anaheim he will be playing for a team that tried to get rid of him for a 2013 second round pick.

The good news for Visnovsky is that because of the current business of the CBA, he likely won’t be skating in an NHL rink for a while.

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