Czech hockey forward Vyborny leaves NHL, joins Sparta Praha

PRAGUE, April 25 (Xinhua) -- Czech ice hockey forward David Vyborny, who played for NHL's Columbus Blue Jackets from 2000, returned to the Czech Elite League's Sparta Praha, Sparta announced on Friday.

Vyborny, a five-time world champion, signed a three-year contract with Sparta. He will also function as the club's sports manager, the Czech news agency CTK reported.

Vyborny, 33, has been the most productive player in Columbus's history, with 113 goals and 204 assists in 543 games.

He played with Sparta in the 1990s and then during the 2004/2005 NHL lockout. He played 219 games for the Czech national team, scoring 44 goals. And he was in the All Stars team of the 2006 championship.

Apart from Vyborny, two other Czech forwards, Michal Bros and Ondrej Kratena who both returned from the Finnish club Kaerpaetu Oulu, also joined Sparta on Friday.

Kratena signed a three-year contract with Sparta, Bros agreed to play four years with the team.