Boston Bruins defenseman Zdeno Chara has signed with Lev Praha of the KHL, according to USA Today's Kevin Allen. Chara, a native of Slovakia, will be playing a few hours from home while the NHL lockout threatens to wipe out the season in North America.

Chara, the Bruins' captain, won the Norris Trophy as the NHL's best defenseman in 2008-2009, and guided the team to a Stanley Cup title in 2011. He's another in a growing list of NHL players who have joined teams in Europe due to the NHL's second labor stoppage in a decade. Joining Chara on the Lev Praha roster are Flyers winger Jakub Voracek andFlames winger Jiri Hudler.

The KHL, which has teams primarily in Russia, just announced that some of their games this season can be watched in the United States on ESPN3. Lev Praha's Sep. 6 game against Ilya Kovalchuk and SKA St. Petersburg will be among the few available in that package.

This story originally appeared at SB Nation.