According to a report in Swedish newspaper Sportbladet, the Malmo Redhawks have released its contracted players.
Players were told Thursday morning that the club was in an economic crisis and that all contracts have been destroyed and players were free to choose other clubs.
''I think we could have received this news a little earlier,'' former Calgary Flames forward Mathias Johansson told Sportbladet. ''They must have known what it looked like. But we have not received any indication of how the situation was. On the contrary, the club bought two new players last week.
As I understand it has kept up with debt from last year, and now when times are as they are, it has been difficult with sponsors.''
According to the report, the Redhawks owe upwards of 8 million krona ($1.3 million) and team owner Percy Nilsson says he will not put one more krona into the team. Nilsson says they will try to save the rest of the season and avoid bankruptcy but if not, they will have to start all over again in Division III.
Malmo plays in Sweden's second highest division, Allsvenskan.
