Sergei Shumakov Looking For NHL Contract

3:39pm: If Shumakov does find a home in the NHL, it won’t be with the New York Rangers as Larry Brooks of the New York Post reports.

9:29am: Teams looking to get a late summer boost to their forward group may have a new name on their contact list, as Igor Eronko of Sport-Express reports that Sergei Shumakov is now looking to an NHL contract after terminating his deal in the KHL. Shumakov played last season for CSKA Moscow, scoring 40 points in 47 games. He was also invited to the Russian Olympic selection camp, but failed to crack the final roster that went on to win the gold medal.

Shumakov, 25, has been a talented offensive player in the KHL for several seasons but hasn’t been linked very often to NHL clubs. If that’s now changed, he’s bound to create some interest as a potential addition in free agency. Undrafted, Shumakov would cost a team nothing but money and opportunity to acquire and could still hold top-six potential. There’s no guarantee his game would fit into the North American style, but after recording at least 16 goals in each of his four full KHL seasons there is reason to believe he could at least provide some depth scoring to an NHL lineup.

Despite his age, Shumakov would be still be constrained by the entry-level system for one year, meaning any interested team would have very little at risk. If he can crack the lineup and prove to be an NHL talent, he’d be looking for a bigger contract in the 2019 offseason. If not, a team would be giving away less than $1MM in salary and cap space as a lottery ticket.