KHL Targeting Restricted Free Agents
CSKA Moscow warned that they’d be after some of their Russian stars, attempting to woo them back with dreams of the 2018 Olympics and a chance to compete for their country. It seems they’ve found two targets, as Igor Eronko of Sport-Express reports the KHL club is in contact with Washington Capitals defender Dmitry Orlov, and Philadelphia Flyers forward Roman Lyubimov. Both players are restricted free agents and could leave for their home country should they want to.
News from Russian clubs should be taken with a grain of salt, but this smoke may have a fire attached to it especially in the case of Lyubimov. In April, he side-stepped a question about going home to Russia for a chance to compete in the Olympics, saying it would be a “tough decision”. The Flyers forward did only come over to the NHL this season, and saw less than 10 minutes of ice-time a night in his 47 games. While he wouldn’t be a devastating loss for the Flyers, Orlov’s departure would send shocks through the Capitals system.
Unlike Lyubimov, Orlov has been in North America for several seasons, coming up through the AHL system and only making his presence really felt the past two seasons. The 25-year old puck-mover has turned into an excellent player, able to play almost 20 minutes a night and record 30 points a season. Losing him in the same season as Karl Alzner and the newly acquired Kevin Shattenkirk would hurt the Capitals’ defensive group quite a bit. Orlov also never played for Moscow, and in fact his hometown and former KHL team Novokuznetsk has just been exiled from the league in an attempt to get it more financially stable.
Orlov is in line for a hefty raise should he stay in North America this summer, one that it will actually be quite difficult for the Capitals to afford. With Evgeny Kuznetsov, Andre Burakovsky, Brett Connolly, Nate Schmidt and Philipp Grubauer all hitting restricted free agency as well, the team will have to carefully carve up the cap-space pie to fit them all in. That’s assuming they don’t try to re-sign Alzner, Shattenkirk, T.J. Oshie, or Justin Williams, all of whom are unrestricted free agents this summer.
Harri Sateri Turns Down KHL Offer; Looking For NHL Deal
According to Finnish news outlet Iltalehti, Harri Sateri has turned down an extension with HC Vityaz of the KHL and wants to return to North America for a chance to play in the NHL. Sateri just finished a run at the World Championships in the Finnish net, recording a .916 save percentage.
Unlike many other European goaltenders, Sateri actually has some North American experience to stand on as he looks for an NHL job. The 27-year old was selected by the San Jose Sharks in the fourth round of the 2008 draft, and played parts of four seasons in the AHL before heading to Russia. After three very successful seasons for Vityaz, it may be time for the 6’1″ goalie to return.
Sateri represents an interesting option for teams looking for a relatively inexpensive backup, as though he’ll be free to sign with whoever he wants for as much as they offer him, his market is likely not booming. He does though provide some upside, as his .929 save percentage in the KHL the past two seasons has shown. Remember though that the KHL have generally higher save percentages than the NHL, with Sateri actually only ranking 14th among goaltenders who played at least 25 games.
Anton Lander, Magnus Hellberg Sign In KHL
Now that his North American season is over, Anton Lander is heading to the KHL. According to multiple reports including Igor Eronko of Sport-Express, the Edmonton Oilers forward and pending restricted free agent has signed with Ak Bars of the KHL, a team rumored to have an agreement with him since March. Magnus Hellberg, who spent this season with the Hartford Wolfpack and New York Rangers, will also be heading overseas to sign with Kunlun of the KHL according to RSport.
Lander actually spent time with the Oilers as a “Black Ace” during the playoffs, but played just 22 games for the club this season. Most of his time was spent in the AHL where he continued to be a force, scoring 55 points in 42 games. Other than a successful stint in the NHL in 2014-15 when he scored 20 points in 38 games, Lander has never been able to put it together at the top level in North America, instead bouncing back and forth between leagues. As an arbitration-eligible RFA, the Oilers would have needed to give Lander a $1.05MM qualifying offer to retain his rights, though it did not have to be a one-way deal because he cleared waivers this year.
Hellberg, who was actually set to become a Group VI free agent this summer, played in two games for the Rangers this season and actually played just fine, stopping 26 of 28 shots. His numbers in the AHL weren’t so rosy but still good enough for the team to likely want to keep him around. The 6’6″ goaltender has shown plenty of promise through his career thus far, though perhaps not enough to warrant the second-round pick Nashville spent on him in 2011. Just two years ago, the Rangers acquired him for a sixth-rounder and now will watch him head to the KHL. The 26-year old has a chance to return to North America one day if he can find more consistency.
Snapshots: Lee, Updated NHLes, Draft Prospects
Only one member of Canada’s silver medal-winning team at the World Championships was from outside the NHL, and he wants that to change.
Chris Lee has played the last four seasons with Metallurg Magnitogorsk of the KHL. He’s also played in the DEL and SHL in the seven years he’s spent overseas. In 2016-17, Lee scored 65 points in 60 games to lead all defensemen in the KHL by 27 points, setting a KHL record. Using Rob Vollman’s NHL equivalencies (more on those later), Lee would have had 66 points in the NHL this season. That would have put him fourth in the NHL behind only Brent Burns, Victor Hedman, and Erik Karlsson. Obviously it’s somewhat unlikely that a 37-year-old rookie would score 66 points, but Lee’s NHLe demonstrates that there is a player there. He drew into the Canadian’s lineup after Tyson Barrie was injured in a hotel room wrestling match with a teammate. Lee had two assists in seven games with Canada.
KHL insider Aivis Kalniņš reported that the 6′, 185 lbs Lee has left Magnitogorsk with hopes of signing in the NHL. One team who could be interested is the Buffalo Sabres. The Sabres recently signed Lee’s KHL defensive partner Viktor Antipin and could look to re-unite the pair in North America.
- Back to NHL equivalencies (NHLe), Rob Vollman recently released updated translation factors. The number is essentially an educated estimate of how a player’s stats would translate to the NHL. Here’s a look at the updated numbers. To use Lee as an example, he scored 65 points in 60 games. Sixty-five points in 60 games works out to 88 points in 82 games. But because the KHL is a lesser league than the NHL, you multiply 88 by 0.74.
| KHL | 0.74 |
| SHL | 0.58 |
| AHL | 0.47 |
| Liiga, NLA | 0.43 |
| Hockey East | 0.38 |
| Big 10 | 0.33 |
| CHL | 0.3 to 0.25 |
- Looking back at recent top draft picks since 2010, most are in the 40-point range. There were some notable exceptions in 2015, with Connor McDavid posting a 67-point NHLe. Jack Eichel, Mitch Marner, and Dylan Strome all had 50-point-plus NHLes.
- Speaking of high draft picks, Corey Pronman released an unusual draft ranking over at ESPN (Insider post). Pronman ranked top picks of the last five years based on his views of them on draft day. This leads to some unusual rankings, like Nico Hischier and Nolan Patrick being ranked above Leon Draisaitl. Pronman’s top five featured McDavid, Patrik Laine, Nathan MacKinnon, Auston Matthews, and Eichel. Other oddities include Jesse Puljujärvi being ranked sixth, above players like Aaron Ekblad (9), Mitch Marner (13), and William Nylander (15).
- This draft class tops out at Hischier at 22, Patrick at 24, Gabriel Vilardi at 25, Cody Glass at 28, and Nick Suzuki at 29. The 2017 draft has the fewest players in Pronman’s top 30, while 2014 leads the way with seven.
Sergei Mozyakin Wins Fourth KHL Most Valuable Player Award
The KHL held its yearly awards ceremony today, celebrating the best players of all the Russian leagues. At the top of the heap was Sergei Mozyakin once again, who won his fourth Golden Stick award as the league’s MVP in the last five years. The 36-year old forward is one of the greatest players to never play in the NHL, and had his best season this year with 48 goals and 85 points—both KHL all-time records—in 60 games for Magnitogorsk.
Mozyakin was actually drafted by the Columbus Blue Jackets back in 2002, his final year of eligibility, but never signed with the team or even attempted to come to the NHL. The legendary Russian forward has won almost every award in the KHL, six World Championship medals and two Gagarin Cups. His career is one of the greatest unknowns to North American fans, never seeing him but for a four game stint with Val d’Or of the QMJHL when he was 17-years old. He captained the Russian team at the most recent World Championships, though exited the tournament after being slew-footed by Germany’s Patrick Hager.
One of the more interesting notes from the awards was Artyom Manukyan winning the Junior Player of the Year, just a month before he’s once again eligible for the NHL Entry Draft. The tiny forward—who stands at just 5’7″ 139-lbs—set a league record with 105 points this season for Omskie Yastreby of the MHL. Passed over a year ago, Manukyan will turn 19 this June and be eligible once again for selection should anyone want to take a chance on him.
Anna Shokhina was named the MVP of the Russian Women’s League, after she scored 81 points in 36 games. Shokhina is just 19-years old but scored 17 more points than anyone else in the league. The powerful winger is basically unstoppable at her level, as she showed against Team Canada at the World University Games back in 2015. She will return to Tornado Dmitrov next season to see if she can repeat her MVP performance.
KHL Down To 27 Teams For 2017-18
Though it’s not quite the downsize that was rumored last week, the KHL has closed the doors on two franchises for the upcoming season. Both Metallurg Novokuznetsk and Medvescak Zagreb will not operate in the KHL this season. It was already known that Zagreb would be returning to the Austrian Hockey League, after another losing season in which the team struggled financially. Novokuznetsk was one of the teams suggested last week, after going just 14-42-4 and scoring less than 100 goals this season.
Despite recent statements from the league that speak of it’s financial health, there have been reports for months (if not years) that there is a wild discrepancy between the stability of the top teams and bottom-feeders. In November, CBC reported that the new Kunlun Red Star team based in China had been drawing fewer than 1,000 fans to some matches. Though breaking into new territory is always difficult, Zagreb is the latest example of a non-Russian team unable to compete for very long.
Novokuznetsk had been in the league since its inception in 2009, but was the only team with the dubious distinction to have never made the playoffs. Even Kunlun made it in their first season, though just a handful of teams really ever make it deep into the postseason. There have only been five different Gagarin Cup Champions in the league’s nine seasons, with three clubs winning it twice each.
There is also a report from the Associated Press that the league still owes over $17MM to players, some of whom haven’t been paid in up to six months. Apparently most of that debt comes down to seven teams, who are “regularly late with salaries”. While it’s not like the KHL is going to close its doors in the next year, the continued financial struggles of some of it’s lower teams is something to keep an eye on. The league will try to balance the playing field this season by more strictly enforcing their salary cap, something that has been routinely taken advantage of in the past by the big spenders.
Sergei Andronov, Bogdan Kiselevich Receiving NHL Interest
According to Sport-Express reporter Igor Eronko, two more KHL players have received offers from multiple NHL teams. After completing the World Championships in Cologne, Germany, Sergei Andronov received three different offers, while teammate Bogdan Kiselevich received two of his own. Eronko doesn’t list which teams have shown interest at this time, though Darren Dreger of TSN had a similar report a few weeks ago. Both players suited up for the bronze medal-winning Russian squad at the tournament, registering five points each.
While there may be interest from several teams, both players are currently under contract with CSKA Moscow in the KHL. Kiselevich’s deal will expire at the end of next season, while Andronov has recently signed an extension for next season with the club. That doesn’t necessarily prevent them from heading to North America, but they would need to reach a mutual termination of their contract—usually in the form of the player buying out his final year for some amount—in order to play in the NHL.
Both their cases are interesting. Andronov played two seasons in the AHL after being selected in the third round by the St. Louis Blues, while Kiselevich has developed into an excellent two-way defender in recent years. Born in Cherepovets, roughly eight hours north of Moscow, Kiselevich was developed by his hometown team before being poached by the bigger CSKA club. He’s now one of their most important defensemen, skating almost 22 minutes a night for them in the most recent playoffs. Andronov on the other hand is a heart-and-soul player for Moscow, wearing an “A” on his sweater and contributing more defensively than on the score sheet. He registered just 10 points this season but led the forward group in blocked shots (only behind Kiselevich for the team lead) and won more than 59% of his faceoffs.
While you won’t see either of them in the NHL this season, interest will remain in the pair of 27-year olds next summer to be sure. At that point, Kiselevich will be a free agent and likely sought after on the open market. With a chance at the Olympics behind them at that point, perhaps teams will come knocking once again.
Linden Vey Expected To Sign In KHL
After putting up another excellent AHL season, restricted free agent Linden Vey may be headed overseas. It had been reported that the Calgary Flames forward has signed with Barys Astana, and now multiple others are hearing the same including Pat Steinberg of Sportsnet.
Vey was selected in the fourth round by the Los Angeles Kings back in 2009 and performed exceptionally well in the AHL before garnering a second-round pick in a trade with Vancouver in 2014. Now 25, Vey has never been able to stick in the NHL playing in just 138 games so far. He has scored 228 points in 278 AHL contests, and may find more success in the KHL.
The undersized forward wasn’t given a qualifying offer last summer, but earned a two-way deal with the Flames for the 2016-17 season. He got into four games, but failed to register a point. He was likely headed for another two-way deal this season, but will apparently instead take a one-year deal in the KHL to try to build his value back up.
Ilya Sorokin Not Thinking About NHL Future
When the New York Islanders signed Linus Soderstrom earlier this month to his entry-level contract, they were avoiding the months of uncertainty they will now face with fellow goaltending prospect Ilya Sorokin. Both selected in the 2014 draft, Soderstrom and Sorokin have found incredible success in the SHL and KHL respectively, putting up ridiculous save percentages at extremely young ages.
Sorokin just finished his second World Championships with Team Russia, taking home another bronze medal while remaining perfect during his short stints in the tournament. Just 21, he has yet to take the mantle of starter though it looks like that may lie in his future. In the KHL this year he followed up a Goaltender of the Year award in 2015-16 with another All-Star appearance, and another solid .929 save percentage. He’s clearly one of the best young Russian goaltenders in a long time, and has an NHL future waiting for him if he wants it.
That’s where it gets tricky for the Islanders though, as Sorokin again told reporters at the end of the tournament that he was focused on his final contract year in the KHL, and hasn’t even considered a move to North America yet. On May 5th, it was announced that he had re-negotiated his deal to pay him more for this season after putting up such incredible numbers. His current deal will expire at the end of April 2018, giving the Islanders just a few weeks to get him under contract.
Since Sorokin was drafted in 2014, New York would lose his exclusive negotiating rights after June 1st of 2018, four years from when he was selected. While his intent isn’t clear, things can often change for prospects as they get closer and closer to the prospect of free agency. Should he ever make it to the open market every team in the league would be knocking on his door, a likely incentive to just wait a few more weeks. There is also the idea that the KHL would likely make him one of the highest-paid goaltenders in the league, trying to keep their talent at home for as long as possible. Though the Islanders sacrificed just a third-round pick on him in 2014, seeing his progression would make it extremely painful to lose him to free agency.
So now, though they don’t have to worry about Soderstrom the Islanders will have to keep an eye on Sorokin and try to persuade him to sign a deal next season. With uncertainty in the crease beyond 2020—if you can call an aging Thomas Greiss certain in the first place—the team would love to be able to pencil Sorokin in as a long-term option. If he’s serious about waiting until after his contract expires to even consider a move, they’ll have to work quickly to convince him.
Golden Knights Notes: Expansion Draft Targets, Gallant, Yakupov
The NHL purposefully designed the rules regarding the expansion draft to give the league’s newest member the best possible chance to compete right away. Teams have two options in terms of whom to protect from their current roster: they can either choose to protect seven forwards, three defensemen and a goalie or they can go the alternate route of eight skaters and one goalie. Any player with two seasons or less of experience playing professional hockey in North America are exempt. Undoubtedly, many teams will confront some tough choices when it comes to whom they potentially lose to the Golden Knights later next month.
Rob Vollman, writing for ESPN.com, examines who among the four Stanley Cup semi-finalists Vegas GM George McPhee is most likely going to garner significant interest from the veteran hockey executive. From the reigning champion Penguins, Vollman suggests that unless the club can convince Marc-Andre Fleury to waive his NMC and subsequently trade him to another club looking for a #1 between the pipes, one of Pittsburgh’s goaltenders would be the best choice for McPhee and the Golden Knights. However, should the Penguins proactively move one of their ‘tenders – almost assuredly Fleury – prior to the expansion draft, Vollman suggests blue liner Brian Dumoulin as the best choice given his penalty killing prowess and ability to play solid defensively.
According to the scribe, Anaheim, barring some shifty maneuvering, may risk losing Josh Manson or Jakob Silfverberg to their new division rivals. Manson, as a right-hand defenseman who can move the puck and plays with bite, would be an excellent addition for Vegas.
Because of their defensive depth, Nashville will likely choose to protect eight skaters, with four being blue liners. This means the Golden Knights will probably have their pick from a group which includes forwards Calle Jarnkrok, Craig Smith and Colin Wilson. Ultimately, Vollman thinks Jarnkrok would be the sensible choice given his affordable cap hit ($2MM annually through 2021-22) and his strong two-way play.
Given the lack of proven goal scorers likely to be available to McPhee in the expansion draft, Vollman wonders whether Vegas could be convinced to take the onerous contract of Bobby Ryan off of Ottawa’s hands. Ryan, who has five years – at which point the winger will be 35 – and an annual cap charge of $7.25MM, has struggled since joining Ottawa four years ago and finished with just 13 goals in 62 contests this past season. However, he has played better in the playoffs recording five markers and 14 points in 16 games. Vollman doubts McPhee would take that hefty contract on without the Senators offering them further incentive to do so but also notes the $7.25MM price tag would make it much easier to reach their targeted floor of $43.8MM in salaries. And at 30, there is hope Ryan can provide at least a few seasons of solid offensive production for a club who will likely struggle to put the puck in the net.
In other Golden Knights news:
- The Golden Knights have done well in hiring veteran coach Gerard Gallant to be the franchise’s first bench boss, at least if some of his former charges and current contemporaries are correct. NHL.com’s Brian Hedger penned an article on Gallant, who is currently an assistant with Canada’s entry in the 2017 IIHF World Championship, which included quotes from Michael Matheson and Nick Bjugstad, who each played for Gallant in Florida. Matheson, a young defenseman who rejoined Gallant on Team Canada for this tournament, said: “He’s a tremendous coach and I loved my time with him. He just gives his players a lot of confidence. He realizes that you’re going to make mistakes but that it’s not the end of the world. He’s just going to put you back onto the ice because he has confidence in you.” For his part, Bjugstad said: “He’s one of my favorite coaches ever,” and indicated he was well-liked in the room in Florida. “Everyone respected him. He had a young team with us, and it didn’t take him long to kind of push us to that next level, the next step. There’s no reason he can’t do it with the next team.” Tampa Bay head coach Jon Cooper also offered up strong praise for Gallant: “I think it’s a great get for Las Vegas. I got to meet Gerard at the [World Cup of Hockey 2016], and that’s a big reason he’s here with us today. He’s extremely knowledgeable about the game, the guys play hard for him and I think he’ll do a [great] job in Vegas.” Gallant’s ability to help develop young players and earn the respect from his charges should do him well in his new position. While the Golden Knights will have access to quality NHL talent via the expansion draft, the organization will still likely rely on building with youth through the draft and it may be a few seasons before they are ready to compete regularly for the postseason.
- With the probable lack of proven goal scorers available to Vegas in the expansion draft, the club will likely look for other ways to add offensive talent to the organization. The Golden Knights have already inked free agent center Vadim Shipachyov, a skilled Russian who was expected to draw significant interest from several NHL clubs this summer. He may well slot in as the team’s #1 center to begin the season. But, as talented as Shipachyov might be, he is more of a playmaker than a goal scorer and Vegas will have to add more talent around their new #1 pivot. Luke Fox of Sportsnet suggests that former top overall draft pick Nail Yakupov is just the sort of player Vegas should take a chance on as they search for impact offensive talent. Yakupov, who suffered through the worst season of his career with St. Louis in 2016-17, scoring just nine points in 40 games, has said he has no desire to return home and play in the KHL. Fox believes the 23-year-old winger is worth a short-term, small money deal for Vegas, or for another team starved for cheap offense, perhaps L.A. Signing Yakupov would certainly make a lot of sense for Vegas. The presence of Shipachyov could help ease Yakupov’s adjustment to the desert and provide the talented winger with the type of setup man that could help him thrive.