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International Notes: Koskinen, Yakovlev, Lyubushkin, Yelesin

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In the always enlightening 31 Thoughts column by Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, he touches on several international players that are on the radar for NHL teams. Starting with goaltender Mikko Koskinen, who he reports recently agreed to a deal with Edmonton, Friedman has also heard—but can’t confirm one way or the other—the $2.5MM/year rumor that has been floating around.

Though nothing has been announced by the team, a deal of that magnitude for the 29-year old goaltender would likely mean the team has plans for him at the NHL level, perhaps as part of a tandem with Cam Talbot next season.

  • The Vancouver Canucks could sign Par Lindholm according to Friedman, or at least have the best shot at this point. The 26-year old Swedish center competed at the Olympics this year and was one of the SHL’s most dangerous offensive weapons. With 47 points in 49 games he ranked fourth in league scoring.
  • Friedman reports that Yegor Yakovlev is expected to sign with the New Jersey Devils, after another good season with SKA St. Petersburg in the KHL. The 26-year old defenseman played at the Olympics as well, and is heading to the World Championships for Russia.
  • Ilya Lyubushkin (24) and Alexander Yelesin (22), two young Russian defensemen are also expected to sign, though Friedman only sources overseas reports that say the former is headed to Arizona. We’ll have to wait to see where exactly they end up.
  • Bogdan Kiselevich is also still on NHL radar, with Friedman reporting that “several teams continue to chase” him. Kiselevich, 28, has been playing in the KHL for years and was even selected in the CHL import draft way back in 2008. He was an alternate captain for CSKA Moscow this season, but becomes a free agent in a few days.

KHL Announces Alignment, Schedule Changes For 2018-19

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We had already heard that the KHL will contract to 25 teams in 2018-19, losing Ugra Khanty-Mansiysk and Lada Togliatti. Now, the league has announced realignment moving several teams around. For next season, three divisions—Bobrov, Tarasov and Khalamov—will have just six teams competing, while the Chernyshev division stays untouched. The full divisions are as follows:

WESTERN CONFERENCE:

Bobrov Division:

Dinamo Riga
Dynamo Moscow
Jokerit Helsinki
Severstal Cherepovets
SKA Saint Petersburg
Spartak Moscow

Tarasov Division:

CSKA Moscow
Dinamo Minsk
Lokomotiv Yaroslavl
Slovan Bratislava
HC Sochi
Vityaz Moscow Region

EASTERN CONFERENCE:

Kharlamov Division:

Ak Bars Kazan
Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg
Metallurg Magnitogorsk
Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk
Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod
Traktor Chelyabinsk
Sibir Novosibirsk

Chernyshev Division:

Admiral Vladivostok
Amur Khabarovsk
Avangard Omsk
Barys Astana
Kunlun Red Star
Salavat Yulaev Ufa

The league will also be expanding their schedule to 62 games, up from the 56 games played in 2017-18. Though the league has been notorious for the lack of parity between their richest and poorest clubs, contraction and a longer schedule could work to reduce that performance gap. Just this week, Ak Bars Kazan upset CSKA in the Gagarin Cup Finals to win the KHL championship, a very unexpected outcome given the powerhouse teams CSKA and SKA St. Petersburg iced this year.

The KHL season begins on September 1st.

Oilers Winger Iiro Pakarinen Signs In KHL

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Oilers winger Iiro Pakarinen is heading back overseas.  A report from Sasha Huttunen and Markku Saarinen of Iltalehti in Finland states that Pakarinen has signed with Metallurg Magnitogorsk of the KHL for next season, ending a four-year stint in North America.  The term of the contract is not yet known.

The 26-year-old played in 40 games with Edmonton this past season, posting two goals and an assist while logging just over 10 minutes per night in ice time.  He was more productive at the minor league level after clearing waivers back in December, recording 13 points (9-4-13) in 18 games with their AHL affiliate in Bakersfield.

While he wound up back with the big club down the stretch, the writing was on the wall that Pakarinen was likely to be a player on the fringes in training camp.  As a result, he’s chosen to go where he’ll have a bigger role which could help his chances of landing another NHL look down the road.  While Edmonton can retain his rights for one more year by qualifying him in June (his required offer is a little over $760K), he will become an unrestricted free agent in July of 2019.

As Bruce McCurdy of the Edmonton Journal notes, Pakarinen was one of the more effective penalty killers for the Oilers and with Mark Letestu, who led all Edmonton forwards in shorthanded ice time per game, dealt to Columbus near the trade deadline, GM Peter Chiarelli will likely be on the lookout for some checking help up front in the months to come.

Rangers’ David Desharnais Headed to KHL

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With the New York Rangers in rebuilding mode and the expected full-time roles that are likely to be given to top prospects Lias Andersson and Filip Chytil, the writing looked to be on the wall for veteran center David Desharnais. Now, European insider Igor Eronko reports that the 31-year-old Desharnais intends to continue his career overseas with the KHL.

Desharnais was unlikely to return to New York as he will be an unrestricted free agent in July. He signed a one-year, $1MM contract last summer to help offset the Rangers’ losses of Derek Stepan, who the team traded to Arizona, and Oscar Lindberg, who the team lost to the Vegas Golden Knights in the expansion draft. The team had hopes that Andersson might make the team out of training camp, but also wanted insurance in case the 18-year-old didn’t. Desharnais provided that depth after Andersson was returned to Sweden, and played 71 games, but tallied just six goals and 28 points this season.

While there is no word on whether he has a deal in place, Desharnais has spent most of his career in North America, having only played 16 games during the 2012-13 strike in Switzerland. Desharnais played most of his career for the Montreal Canadiens and had several good seasons, including 60-point, 52-point and 48-point seasons between 2011 to 2015 seasons. However injuries have derailed his career and the veteran has struggled to hold onto his roster spot as the Canadiens traded him to the Edmonton Oilers last season for their playoff run, while the Oilers opted not to re-sign him last offseason.

Edmonton Oilers Frontrunners To Sign KHL’s Mikko Koskinen

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Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman and Bob Stauffer of 630 CHED each have linked the Edmonton Oilers with being the frontrunners to sign KHL goaltender Mikko Koskinen as the team’s backup to starter Cam Talbot. Koskinen, who has been playing with the KHL for the past six seasons, made his intentions known a couple of weeks ago that he’d like to take his talents back to the NHL.

The 29-year-old, who was a second-round pick of the New York Islanders in 2009, came overseas and played two games in the ECHL, 41 games in the AHL and four games with the Islanders, but struggled and eventually opted to return to Finland. In 31 games for SKA St. Petersburg, the goaltender posted a 1.89 GAA and a .905 save percentage.

Koskinen could be a good fit with Edmonton, assuming Talbot can rebound after a tough season. The starter went from a 2.39 GAA in 2016-17 and dropped to a 3.02 GAA this year. One key factor is the amount of games the veteran has played. Talbot has appeared in 153 games in two years if you include the 2017 playoffs. If Talbot can return to form, Koskinen could be a solid backup option where the team struggled last year. Laurent Brossoit started the year as the backup, but lost his job when he posted a 3.24 GAA. The team then traded for veteran Al Montoya, who didn’t fare much better with a 2.94 GAA in nine appearances. Montoya is the only backup who is under contract for next year at $1.06MM.

The Edmonton Journal’s David Staples writes that a backup goalie is essential to a team’s success and compares the potential signing to that of Anders Nilsson, who also struggled after being drafted by the Islanders and went overseas before signing with Edmonton. However, Nilsson struggled as a backup as well and was traded away later that same season. However, Koskinen has six years in the KHL under his belt and would be a far more likely option to be successful as a backup with the Oilers.

Friedman reported the news on Saturday’s Hockey Night in Canada.

Devils Close To Deal With Defenseman Yegor Yakovlev

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Another team eyeing overseas talent this off-season is one whose off-season has yet to begin. Russian news source Sport-Express reports that SKA St. Petersburg defenseman Yegor Yakovlev is planning to sign with the New Jersey Devils. It seems that GM Ray Shero and company have stayed busy on the talent acquisition front for next season, despite the team still being focused on their first-round playoff series.

Yakovlev, 26, is yet another talented member of KHL powerhouse SKA. Teammates like Ilya Kovalchuk, Nikita Gusev, Sergei Plotnikov, and Mikko Koskinen are among many on the roster who could sign in the NHL this summer, but Yakovlev seems to be closest to a concrete deal. Yakovlev lost games due to injury in 2017-18, but last season set career highs with 21 points and a +30 rating in 56 games. He made up for some missed time this year with a strong showing for Russia at the Olympics as well, skating on the team’s top pair. A high-energy two-way defenseman, Yakovlev certainly appears to have the talent to push for a regular role in the NHL.

Where exactly he fits in New Jersey is a different question. The Devils surprised many this season by earning a playoff berth just one season after finishing near the bottom of the league. Part of that turnaround has been the improved play on the blue line, greatly aided by the additions of Sami Vatanen and Will Butcher. On the left side, where Yakovlev plays, New Jersey has Butcher, captain Andy Greene, and – for now – John Moore. While admittedly it’s not as strong as the right side of Vatanen, Damon Severson, Ben Lovejoy, and seventh-man Steve Santini, it’s still a solid group and a consistent one at that, with all three playing in 81 games this year. Even if Moore, an impending unrestricted free agent, was to leave the Devils, Mirco Mueller is a promising lefty in need of some play time. While healthy competition never hurts, it certainly seems like Yakovlev is signing on to a situation where he won’t be guaranteed a starting job without earning it.

Coyotes To Sign Defenseman Ilya Lyubushkin

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With the KHL season over, there continue to be numerous rumors connecting foreign free agents, young and old, with interested NHL teams. Trusted European hockey insider Igor Eronko of NHL.com says that Lokomotiv Yaroslavl defenseman Ilya Lyubushkin is next up. Eronko relays the message that Lyubushkin is set to sign with the Arizona Coyotes.

While no terms of the deal have leaked yet, the 24-year-old Lyubushkin seems to be more of gamble on upside for the Coyotes rather than a player expected to start immediately without issue. The contract will most likely be for relatively little money and may even be of a two-way nature. In 2017-18, Lyubushkin tallied just nine points in 50 games, which was fifth among Lokomotiv defenseman. The stay-at-home defender was more effective in his own zone, posting a +14 rating, but even this was fourth on the team. Lyubushkin’s only noticeable lead on Yarolslavl was in penalty minutes, where he was tops by a wide margin due to his propensity for the physical side of the game.

What the Coyotes likely see in Lyubushkin is a strong, young blue liner who already has extensive pro experience, with five years with Lokomotiv under his belt. A right-shot defenseman under 25 with that much experience doesn’t hit free agency very often and Arizona likely hopes that his more conservative games translates well to the NHL. They could use him sooner rather than later, as Luke Schenn’s free agency leaves only Jason Demers as a right shot on the Arizona back end. Even in the AHL, there are no better righty options to step in than Lyubushkin, as only college free agent Jordan Gross – a similar style player to Lyubushkin – looks ready to play at the pro level. Of course, this situation could all change this off-season in free agency or if the ’Yotes land elite defenseman Adam Boqvist in the draft (though they would of course prefer lefty Rasmus Dahlin), but for now Lyubushkin looks to be a sleeper pick to fill a regular role with Arizona in the next year or so.

Rangers Closing In On Swedish Forward Michael Lindqvist

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The New York Rangers are already in off-season mode following a disappointing 77-point season that saw them finish last in the Metropolitan Division and trade away several big-name veterans. GM Jeff Gorton and company clearly have at least a restructuring of the team in mind, if not a complete rebuild. With such a process often comes some unique ways of replenishing the talent that is traded away for picks and prospects. While one player already linked to the Rangers this off-season has been KHL star and former NHL standout Ilya Kovalchuk, many have questioned if adding a 35-year-old who thrives when playing with high-end talent was really the right move for a rebuilding team. A new European rumor makes much more sense. According to a Swedish news source, the Kvalls Posten, young Swedish star Michael Lindqvist is nearing a deal to join New York.

Lindqvist, 23, is a sharp-shooting right winger who is coming off a breakout season with Farjestad of the Swedish Hockey League. Although injuries limited Lindqvist to just 33 games in 2017-18, the young Swede still finished third on his team in scoring and had the best per-game production on the roster. In fact, Lindqvist’s 34 points in 33 games was the fourth-best points-per-game rate in the entire league among players who skated in at least half of their team’s games. Lindqvist also added three points in two playoff games for Farjestad, which was a quarterfinalist in the SHL this season.

In speaking about Lindqvist’s contract situation, agent Joakim Persson told the Kvalls Posten that there were a number of teams interested in Lindqvist, but that the list has been narrowed down. Persson adds the Washington Capitals to the list of finalists for Lindqvist’s services, but states that the Rangers are the heavy favorite. Persson says that a decision is approaching and that a deal will be official soon. While there will surely be an adjustment period for Lindqvist, the talented forward is a worthwhile gamble for the Rangers, who will look to reconstruct their roster with as much youth and potential as possible during the upcoming summer and beyond.

Pavel Datsyuk Signs One-Year Extension In KHL

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Though there had been some speculation that Pavel Datsyuk could potentially return to North America next season, since his contract with SKA St. Petersburg was ending, agent Dan Milstein of Gold Star Hockey ended any rumors today. Milstein announced that Datsyuk had signed a one-year extension with SKA to remain in the KHL, and is preparing for the World Championships.

Not only will Datsyuk not be returning to the NHL, but he also is off the market for a return to his hometown club in Russia. Instead, he’ll remain with the powerhouse St. Petersburg team for another year, and try to win another Gagarin Cup.

The legendary Detroit Red Wings forward added an Olympic gold medal to his trophy case this year, putting him into the exclusive “Triple Gold” club with Stanley Cup and World Championship victories. Add in a Gagarin Cup as KHL champion and an RSL Championship before coming to North America in the first place, and Dastyuk has basically won everything he could ever dream of. The four-time Lady Byng and three-time Selke winner left the NHL in 2016 with 918 points in 953 games, citing a need to be closer to his growing family.

Ilya Kovalchuk Off Voluntary Retirement List

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Happy Birthday!

Former New Jersey Devils star Ilya Kovalchuk reached his 35th birthday today, but that milestone has more meaning for the KHL and Olympic star, who has indicated he wants to return to the NHL after a five-year layoff. The veteran, today on his 35th birthday, is officially off the voluntary retirement list and is now an unrestricted free agent, free to negotiate and agree to terms with any NHL team, although he can’t officially sign a contract until July 1, according to TSN’s Bob McKenzie.

While many players once they hit their mid-thirties begin to see their play begin to fade, Kovalchuk hasn’t slowed down yet. In fact, his past two years in the KHL have been two of his best in his career. The winger has scored 64 goals combined during that two-year period and tallied 143 points as well. He also won MVP honors and helped lead Russia to a gold medal at the 2018 Olympic Games in Pyeongchang. He’s indicated that he would like to return to the NHL for another two to three years with the goal of winning a Stanley Cup.

While there have already been rumors that he has agreed to a side deal with the New York Rangers as he has always held a fascination with playing in New York, he has come out recently and refuted that rumor. The Rangers may also wait on making a decision about Kovalchuk until they hire a coach. On top of that, if Kovalchuk’s true interest is winning a Stanley Cup, then the Rangers might not be the ideal destination as they are in rebuild mode. However, Kovalchuk and his agent have an earlier advantage on most pending unrestricted free agents which might allow him to find an early home.

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