Sheffield Steelers netminder Davey Lawrence has decided to leave the club and continue his career in the English Premier League.

Steelers' general manager Mike O'Connor has thanked Barnsley-born Lawrence for his service at the House of Steel over the last six years.

He said: "I've been trying to push Davey out of the door for years, because he has a lot of talent.

"He needs to play and that wasn't going to happen here, so he had to move on."

I believe that Jody's heart is in Sheffield and we are very close to agreeing terms Mike O'Connor on Jody Lehman

Meanwhile O'Connor believes that the Steelers are close to agreeing terms with their number one netminder Jody Lehman.

"I don't think that Jody wants to go anywhere else, but it would be remiss of him not to explore options in Europe because there is a lot of money on offer.

"I believe that Jody's heart is in Sheffield and we are very close to agreeing terms, I think that will happen in the next few days."