Lilja still looking for a job

There are many things in this world that we can wonder about but may never find out such as what is the meaning of life, is there an after life or why in the hell would Andreas Lilja think he is worth more then $1 million on the open market? Can you blame it on the economy? Or maybe every single team in the NHL has a 35 year old defenseman coming off an injury plagued year that sidelined them for the good portion of the season? Or could it be that no one in interested in paying a 35 year old defenseman, with concussion problems more then $1 million per season? I’m going to have to go with option C. Furthermore, according to Ansar Khan of Mlive.com, Lilja is now wishing he took the Wings’ $1 million dollar offer over the summer. Here is what Lilja had to say…
“We’ve talked to a couple of teams, but the market right now is no good,” Lilja said. “There’s a lot of players in my situation. Just have to try to stay positive and wait for the right thing to come up.
“It’s really frustrating. Last couple of weeks have not been fun.”
NHL training camp is just a few weeks away and to stay ready Lilja joined his former teammates at the Joe for a informal practice as the offseason winds down.
“I don’t really know what teams are thinking right now,” Lilja said. “Somebody said there’s 30 guys in my situation. They’re all probably thinking the same thing: What’s going on? Why haven’t I signed a contract yet?
“I think it’s the teams’ market right now. They can do pretty much what they want. I guess they’re in no rush. I think a lot of teams are trying to get some new guys in, younger players, try to keep salaries down.”
If a contract isn’t offered to him in the NHL there is always the option of playing in Europe or in Russia where he would surely make over $1 million per season. Lilja however doesn’t want to be separated from his family so it looks as if he is going to try and continue to look for work on the North American side of the Atlantic.