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Konstantin Okulov Re-Signs In KHL

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It wasn’t so long ago that news about a 25-year old KHL forward re-signing in Russia would be easily swept aside by daily NHL updates, but such as it is, Konstantin Okulov’s new contract is one of the top stories of the day. Igor Eronko of Sport-Express reported earlier today that the free agent had re-signed with CSKA Moscow for another year, ending (for now at least) any interest from NHL clubs.

The Toronto Maple Leafs and Montreal Canadiens had been the leading pursuers earlier this year and were considered aggressive enough at the time that other teams had hesitated to invest any time in the recruitment of Okulov. The undrafted forward recorded 17 goals and 38 points this season for CSKA, putting him fifth on the team in scoring behind familiar names Kirill Kaprizov, Linden Vey, Anton Slepyshev and Mikhail Grigorenko. It was the third season in four years that he has scored at least 17 goals, actually a relatively impressive accomplishment in the shorter-seasoned KHL.

Perhaps the Maple Leafs’ recent acquisition of Alexander Barabanov spoiled their interest in Okulov, or perhaps he just decided to remain in Russia for another year. His name will surely come up again next spring when he is a free agent once again, though it’s not clear which NHL teams—if any—would be interested at that point.

Ilya Sorokin Declines KHL Extension Offer

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The Islanders have been waiting for Ilya Sorokin to come to North America for several years now.  It appears as if the wait may soon be over.  Sport-Express’ Igor Eronko reports (Twitter link) that Sorokin has turned down an extension offer from CSKA Moscow of the KHL, paving the way for him to sign with New York at the expiration of his current deal at the end of the month.

Sorokin was a third-round pick (78th overall) back in 2014 and has quickly outperformed that slot as he has become of the top goaltenders outside of North America.  This season, he posted a .935 SV% with a GAA of 1.50 and if you think those are impressive, they’re actually both worse than 2018-19 (.940 SV% and 1.16 GAA).  He was off to a stellar start in the playoffs as well with a .966 SV% and a 0.73 GAA before the postseason was eventually called.  While the KHL is a lower-scoring league, those are still appealing results and it’s no surprise that CSKA tried to get Sorokin to sign an extension.

Instead, it appears that the 24-year-old now has his sights set on the NHL where he should make his mark right away with the Islanders.  Assuming a deal gets done, it’s safe to pencil him in alongside Semyon Varlamov as New York’s tandem for next season.  That makes it seem unlikely on the surface that Thomas Greiss, a pending unrestricted free agent, will be back in the fold.

On the surface, it might seem like Sorokin would be leaving some money on the table in the short term as he’ll be restricted to a one-year, entry-level deal.  However, this stoppage could potentially present an opportunity for Sorokin to burn that year quickly.  As he was on the Islanders’ reserve list at the trade deadline, he’d be eligible to play if play resumes.  Accordingly, they could burn that year right away and get him out of the entry-level system quickly which is what Columbus did with Elvis Merzlikins just last season.

Accordingly, it may take a bit of time yet for an NHL deal to be announced as Sorokin’s side would undoubtedly want to wait to see what happens with the rest of this season and playoffs before putting pen to paper on a contract.  However, it appears that the wait to bring him to North America is about to come to an end.

Snapshots: Bilyalov, Jaskin, Combs

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While the NHL has assured fans that the 2020-21 season will not be impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and a number of international players and college prospects have signed contracts for next season based on that premise, KHL goaltender Timur Bilyalov is not feeling as comfortable with the league’s unknown future. Despite garnering interest from NHL teams, Bilyalov has opted to re-sign with Ak Bars Kazan on a one-year deal, citing doubts as to when the new NHL league year will begin. However, the 25-year-old specifically noted that he has not ruled out pursuing an NHL career in the future. Bilyalov was one the best goalies in the KHL this season, recording a .943 save percentage and 1.45 goals-against average in the regular season and even better numbers in an undefeated playoff run prior to the KHL’s cancellation of the season. Interest will undoubtedly renew this time next year if his top performance continues.

  • Former NHLer Dmitrij Jaskin also appears poised to re-sign in the KHL. RIA News in Moscow reports that Dynamo Moscow has come to terms on an extension for their star forward. Jaskin recorded 31 goals and 63 points in a dominant first season in the KHL. The power forward made the jump last off-season after failing to find a job in the NHL. He had played the previous six seasons with the St. Louis Blues and Washington Capitals, totaling 27 goals and 69 points in 303 games, a mark he nearly topped in just one season back in Russia. Despite his impressive production this combined with previous experience in the league, Jaskin appears content to continue starring for Dynamo rather than seeking out another NHL opportunity.
  • The college transfer market is mostly used to make depth additions, but occasionally a program can find a diamond in the rough. Michigan State may have a good one on their hands in forward Charlie Combs. Combs announced that he will leave Bemidji State and join the Spartans for his senior season. The former BCHL standout had a slightly down 2019-20 campaign, but was one of the Beavers’ best players a season ago. He has compiled 60 points in three collegiate seasons and was on his way to an NCAA Tournament appearance this season with Bemidji State prior to the cancellation of the postseason. He will look to make the most of his final college season with a Michigan State team that was competitive in the Big Ten Conference this year.

Anton Slepyshev Re-Signs In KHL

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The Edmonton Oilers had been trying to bring back a familiar face, sending a contract offer to KHL forward Anton Slepyshev in recent days. It looks like it wasn’t enough, as Igor Eronko of Sport-Express reports that Slepyshev has signed a two-year extension with CSKA Moscow to remain overseas.

It’s not hard to understand why Slepyshev would want to stay in the KHL. The 25-year old forward recorded just 23 points in 102 NHL games over parts of three seasons while with the Oilers but scored 18 goals and 45 points just this year for CSKA. A third-round pick by Edmonton in 2013 he has finally reached the offensive potential he always flashed, but there’s no guarantee that kind of success would follow him back to North America.

Of course, this two-year deal also has further consequences. Since Slepyshev did sign and play with the Oilers at one point, his exclusive NHL negotiating rights will expire on his 27th birthday. He’ll be turning 26 next month, meaning Edmonton will lose his rights before this new extension is complete. With that in mind, remember Slepyshev’s name in the spring of 2022 when he could be a potential free agent signing for the entire league, should he entertain the idea of coming back to the NHL.

Snapshots: Denisenko, Gerard, Olympics

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The Florida Panthers are expected to sign prospect Grigori Denisenko on May 1 after his KHL contract expires, according to Igor Eronko of Sport-Express. The young forward apparently “refused” to sign an extension with his KHL club and will instead be coming to North America. That’s not a huge surprise after the Panthers used the 15th-overall pick on Denisenko in 2018, but it should create some excitement in Florida as they wait for hockey to return.

The 19-year old Denisenko has twice suited up for the Russians at the World Juniors, earning bronze and silver medals while leading the 2019 tournament in scoring and captaining the 2020 squad. In 38 games with Lokomotiv this season he recorded just 12 points, but even playing regularly at his age is an accomplishment. Even though they already have a formidable forward group in the NHL, there is a lot to look forward to in the Florida prospect system with names like Denisenko, Serron Noel, Owen Tippett, Henrik Borgstrom, and others upfront.

  • The Colorado Eagles have added a prospect of their own, signing Charlie Gerard to a two-way AHL contract for 2020-21. The 24-year old forward recently finished his senior season at Minnesota State-Mankato, where he recorded 30 points in 37 games. The undersized Gerard will be joining an organization that was one of the strongest in the AHL before the season shut down and has routinely rewarded their minor league players with solid salary guarantees.
  • Usually when NHL commissioner speaks about the Olympics he is referring to the winter variety, but today he spoke to NBC Sports Network’s Mike Tirico about how the postponement of the upcoming Tokyo summer games could potentially be beneficial to hockey. Frank Seravalli of TSN examined the league boss’s comments, and explained how without the Olympics taking up several weeks in the summer there is now a “broader window” for the NHL to resume play. There are no firm plans at this point as Bettman and the league plays the wait-and-see game, but he did confirm that they could play “well into the summer” if need be.

Toronto Maple Leafs Sign Alexander Barabanov

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The Toronto Maple Leafs have won a battle with several other teams, including the Arizona Coyotes, for the right to sign Russian forward Alexander Barabanov. The team announced a one-year entry-level contract for the KHL star, one which kicks in for the 2020-21 season.

The 25-year old Barabanov has been on NHL radars for quite some time, given his history of success in the KHL and on the international stage. A medalist with Russia at the World Juniors, World Championship and Olympics, he also has taken home two Gagarin Cup titles and has 137 points in 262 career KHL games.

Though his numbers dropped off this season, Barabanov will now get the chance to show he can compete at the NHL level with the Maple Leafs, who have a recent history of bringing over prized Russian free agents. Nikita Zaitsev, Igor Ozhiganov and Ilya Mikheyev have all played for the team the last few seasons—to different levels of success—though many believed that former GM Lou Lamoriello and former head coach Mike Babcock had a lot to do with the recruiting process in those cases.

It seems as though current GM Kyle Dubas still has the ear of some important representatives, which perhaps has something to do with the way he recently dealt with Mikheyev’s injury. After Dubas remained in New Jersey with the injured forward as he recovered, agent Dan Milstein of Gold Star Hockey—who also represents Barabanov—said that he had made sure that all of the other KHL free agents were aware of how Toronto dealt with the situation.

In any case, the Maple Leafs have landed another cheap forward to add to their expensive group for next season, giving them options on how to construct a lineup.

Metropolitan Notes: Jones, Fitzgerald, Golyshev

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While the season remains on hold due to COVID-19, many players are getting every chance to get back to full health. In fact, the delay in the season could be  a huge benefit to several teams that lost key players late in the season, which now might make them available if the NHL is able to continue the season or at least the playoffs.

The Columbus Blue Jackets look like they could be huge benefactors to that end as injured defenseman Seth Jones, a crucial linchpin to the team’s shutdown defense announced that he stepped on the ice today for the first time since suffering an ankle injury in which he required surgery to repair a sprain an hairline fracture on Feb. 11. He was given an 8-10 week recovery time after suffering the injury three days earlier against the Colorado Avalanche.

While Columbus had fared well despite suffering numerous team injuries over the course of the year, Jones’ departure from the lineup had quite the effect. The team picked up just three wins after his injury, with a 3-5-6 record.

The Athletic’s Aaron Portzline adds that while players are not allowed to use their teams’ facilities at the moment, Jones is permitted to do so as part of his rehab from ankle surgery, allowed by deputy commissioner Bill Daly. Injured players are allowed access to team’s facilities since the beginning of the league’s suspension.

  • The Athletic’s Corey Masisak (subscription required) writes in his most recent mailbag entry that the longer the suspension goes on, the more and more likely the New Jersey Devils will had the permanent general manager position to current interim GM Tom Fitzgerald. With most candidates still under contract until the season ends, New Jersey has been unable to interview any candidates that are associated with a team. The team has interviewed former Vancouver Canucks GM Mike Gillis (twice), but if the season goes deep into the summer, there is a good chance they will keep Fitzgerald, who took over for Ray Shero on Jan. 12 and had a successful trade deadline. Fitzgerald was already a top candidate for the job, but the Devils were interested in a full search, which now may be difficult.
  • With rumors that the New York Islanders are already getting Russian goaltending prospect Ilya Sorokin under contract for next season, Sport-Express’ KHL writer Igor Eronko reports that another Russian prospect is considering coming stateside for the 2021-22 season. According to Eronko, 25-year-old forward Anatoli Golyshev has looked at houses in New York and wants to join the team in 2021. Golyshev, an Islanders’ fourth-round pick in 2016, had an injury-plagued campaign this year with just 11 goals and 25 points in 38 games, but scored 37 goals over his previous two years with Yekaterinburg Automobilist in the KHL.

Calgary Notes: Event Shutdown, Sveningsson, Peters

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Just like Toronto earlier this week, the city of Calgary has announced a shutdown of all public events until June 30. Unlike Toronto however, who said its ban would not affect the Maple Leafs, Calgary mayor Naheed Nenshi explicitly said that the Flames will not be allowed to “hold gatherings” during that time, according to Danny Austin of Postmedia.

While the NHL already seemed more likely to be holding whatever remaining 2019-20 games they play in July and August (if at all), this guarantees no action will be held in Calgary for the next three months. The Flames currently sit third in the Pacific Division but would drop to the second wildcard position if the league decided to use points percentage to determine seeding. Either way, it seems like they would be included in this year’s playoffs, meaning this ruling and others like it only complicate things moving forward.

  • One Flames prospect that won’t be taking part in any Calgary games for a while is Filip Sveningsson, who has signed with MODO of the Swedish Allsvenskan (second league) for next season. A seventh-round pick from 2017, Sveningsson played most of his season in the SHL this year but will move back down a level and try to help MODO get back up to the top league. The Flames hold his exclusive draft rights until June 1, 2021.
  • Bill Peters, the former head coach of the Flames who resigned from his position following the investigation of past events brought up by Akim Aliu, is potentially heading overseas for his next job. Jim Matheson of the Edmonton Journal tweets that Peters’ name has come up in Russia as a possible candidate for a coaching job with Yekaterinburg in the KHL. Pavel Datsyuk, who played under Peters when he was an assistant with the Detroit Red Wings, spent this season with Yekaterinburg.

Alexander Kadeykin Expected To Sign With Red Wings

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Alexander Kadeykin is trying to prove that it is never too late for a draft pick to pan out. An overage prospect in 2014, Kadeykin was selected by the Detroit Red Wings in the seventh round. Now 26, he has decided that it is finally time to make the jump to the NHL. Russian news source Business Online reports that Kadeykin has informed his KHL squad that he intends to sign with the Red Wings.

Kadeykin is a well-traveled KHL veteran, spending the past two seasons with Salavat Yulaev Ufa and previously suiting up for Lokomotiv Yaroslavl, SKA St. Petersburg, and Atlant Mytishchi. Formerly a role player, the 6’5”, 218-lb. center has grown into more of a power forward and scoring threat. He set new career highs across the board this season with 11 goals, 29 points, and a +20 rating in 59 games. Kadeykin also looked primed for a strong postseason with three points in six games before the KHL playoffs were canceled.

Given his size and aggressive style as well as seemingly average offensive abilities, Kadeykin seems likely to slot into a checking role for Detroit. He may also begin his North American career in the AHL and work his way up. However, there should be ample opportunity with the last-place Red Wings for Kadeykin to win a spot.

Toronto Maple Leafs Frontrunners To Sign Alexander Barabanov

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March 31: Maple Leafs’ GM Kyle Dubas admitted at media availability today that his team is pursuing Barabanov, explaining to Chris Johnston of Sportsnet that the team likes the Russian forward’s ability to make plays under pressure. Johnston also notes that there doesn’t seem to be any rush from Barabanov’s side to make a decision.

March 28: With the KHL playoffs now canceled, many of the league’s top free agents can now consider signing new contracts. One of the more interesting forwards, Alexander Barabanov, has expressed interest in coming to North America and signing with an NHL team with at least 20 teams showing interest in the diminutive forward to this point.

However, a recent report from Sport-Express’ overseas reporter Igor Eronko suggests that the Toronto Maple Leafs are the leading candidate to sign the 25-year-old, although he did report that there are three teams he’s considering, which also includes the Arizona Coyotes. TSN’s Darren Dreger does add that nothing is confirmed. In fact, there are no guarantees he’s definitely coming to the NHL yet. He reports that Barabanov and his agent Dan Milstein will begin interviewing teams next week.

Barabanov has played full seasons for SKA St. Petersburg in the KHL for the past five years and has scored anywhere between 10 to 20 goals in each of the last four years. He scored a career-high 17 goals and 46 points in 58 games in the 2018-19 season but saw his numbers dip this past year after suffering a broken hand in December from a slashing incident. He finished his season with 10 goals and 20 points in 43 games. Regardless, the forward is expected to fill a role as a solid bottom-six forward despite his lack of size at 5-foot-8 and 159 pounds.

If Toronto is the front-runner, it wouldn’t be a big surprise as general manager Kyle Dubas has made it a priority to add undrafted talent to his salary cap-strapped team by looking overseas. He added forward Ilya Mikheyev out of the KHL last year, who did make an impact in the first half of the season before suffering a wrist laceration when the skate of New Jersey’s Jesper Bratt ran over his wrist. Mikheyev has eight goals and 23 assists in 39 games this season. Despite the injury, he is expected to play a major role for the Maple Leafs next season. Toronto hopes they can get similar production from Barabanov if he agrees to sign with them.

Arizona is also in the mix. The Athletic’s Craig Morgan confirmed the Coyotes interest as general manager John Chayka talked with Barabanov earlier this season when he visited St. Petersburg. No word on who the third team Barabanov is considering.

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