In Elliotte Friedman’s latest 31 Thoughts column for Sportsnet the venerable hockey insider reported that Jakub Jerabek had a clause in his contract similar to Nikita Soshnikov, in that he could demand to be loaned back to the KHL should he not be in the NHL by a certain time. For Soshnikov that time was November 14th, which prompted the Toronto Maple Leafs to recall him this week. For Jerabek it wasn’t clear when the deadline was.
Now, Renaud Lavoie of TVA Sports reports that December 15th is the date which Jerabek could ask to be reassigned, but it might not matter. Eric Engels of Sportsnet quickly chimed in by relaying a message from Jerabek’s agent Allan Walsh, who says that his client is “100% committed” to the Montreal organization and doesn’t intend on leaving.
From all accounts Jerabek has been the model employee for the Canadiens, understanding his role on the team and putting in the work to adapt his game to the North American style. Jerabek was a first-team All-Star last season (his first) in the KHL, scoring 34 points in 59 games. The 26-year old Czech-born defenseman signed a one-year entry-level contract this summer (as was mandated by the CBA) and will be an unrestricted free agent in the summer. Should he show the ability to jump to the NHL level before the end of the year you can bet Montreal will be fighting off other suitors for his services. With 11 points in 14 AHL games, he looks too good for the minor leagues already.
I’m guessing Jerabek gets the call before his opt-out date. Mete’s been slowly losing ice time(despite still strong play) which means he’s likely OHL bound in the near future.