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Maxim Shalunov

Maxim Shalunov To Remain In KHL

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A top KHL free agent will remain in Russia, at least for now. The Athletic’s Scott Powers reports that forward Maxim Shalunov is set to sign a three-year contract with Lokomotiv Yaroslavl. A draft pick of the Chicago Blackhawks back in 2011, Shalunov remains property of the club and was exploring a move to the NHL this off-season.

Shalunov’s future remains unknown despite the long-term deal. Powers notes that the 28-year-old has an out clause in his new contract with Lokomotiv, allowing him to move to the NHL next season if a contract can be found. A potential NHL deal also may not be in Chicago; the Blackhawks gave Shalunov permission earlier this summer to discuss a contract with other teams and were willing to facilitate a trade to help him land in the NHL. While nothing came to fruition, Powers reports that Shalunov did have at least one offer from an NHL team and it was not Chicago. The Blackhawks are believed to not have the cap space and roster flexibility to accommodate the KHL star this season, but his other suitor was a team that Shalunov did not wish to play for. Shalunov’s agent assured Powers that his intention is still to one day play with Chicago if the two sides can work it out.

Since his first stint in North America, a 2013-14 campaign split between the AHL and ECHL, Shalunov has blossomed into an elite scorer in the KHL. The big, skilled center has recorded 104 goals and 197 points in 355 career KHL games. The 2020-21 season was arguably his best, recording 35 points and a +20 rating in 52 games and another 18 points in 22 playoff games. Shalunov appears ready to take on the NHL, but will spend at least one more season in the KHL as he searches for the best way to make the jump.

Central Notes: Garland, Shalunov, Oleksiak

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Last month, Conor Garland’s agent indicated there had been no progress in contract discussions between the Coyotes and the pending restricted free agent.  It appears nothing has changed on that front as David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period relays (Twitter link) that there still have been no contract talks between the two sides and that Arizona appears to be trying to move him.  The 25-year-old is coming off a career year that saw him collect 12 goals and 27 assists in 49 games but is arbitration-eligible for the first time.  On the surface, it would appear as if the Coyotes are concerned about what contract he could be awarded in a hearing which makes him a name to watch for heading into Saturday’s transactions freeze.

Elsewhere in the Central Division:

  • The Blackhawks have given the agent for forward Maxim Shalunov permission to speak to other NHL teams about finding a trade for his rights, reports Scott Powers of The Athletic (subscription link). Whether or not the 28-year-old will come back to North America (he played in the minors in 2013-14) has seemingly been an annual tradition for the last several years but with Chicago’s forward depth, there really isn’t a spot for him even if they wanted to sign him.  Shalunov had 18 goals and 17 assists in 52 games with CSKA Moscow in the KHL this season and could be an intriguing acquisition for someone; Powers suggests that the asking price from Chicago wouldn’t be too high in order to give him a chance to try the NHL if they don’t have a spot for him.
  • One player whose stock may have been boosted by the playoffs is Stars blueliner Jamie Oleksiak. Between that and recent contracts handed out to similar players, Matthew DeFranks of the Dallas Morning News posits that the 28-year-old pending unrestricted free agent should be able to land a contract of $3.5MM or more on the open market.  That may be more than Dallas can afford knowing that Miro Heiskanen is up for a big-ticket contract in his first trip through restricted free agency this summer.  Oleksiak told DeFranks that things have been quiet so in terms of discussions on a new deal.

Maxim Shalunov Re-Signs In KHL

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If you’re a Chicago Blackhawks fan waiting to hear that Max Shalunov has finally decided to come to North America, you’re going to have to wait a while longer. The Russian forward has re-signed with CSKA Moscow for another season.

Shalunov, 27, was originally drafted by the Blackhawks back in 2011 but has never signed an NHL contract. He did play one season in the minor leagues, mostly with the Toledo Walleye of the ECHL, but has been back in Russia ever since. The Blackhawks own his exclusive NHL rights indefinitely, which could mean that he never ends up seeing a North American rink.

In a bizarre story from Scott Powers of The Athletic (subscription required), Shalunov’s agent Shumi Babaev explains that he hasn’t heard back from Blackhawks GM Stan Bowman since the end of the KHL season. He put into words what so many of us are feeling these days, telling Powers “everything is so strange right now.” If Shalunov did sign, he’d have to wait until the 2020-21 season to begin, something that his agent doesn’t recommend.

The fourth-round pick has had plenty of success in the KHL, scoring at least 25 points in each of the last five seasons. But the Blackhawks obviously don’t seem to be in any rush to sign him, instead bringing over other European players like Dominik Kubalik. For the moment, Shalunov remains a Blackhawks draft pick. Whether we’ll ever get to see him play for the team is another story.

KHL Notes: Tolchinsky, Shalunov, Kaprizov

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The Carolina Hurricanes signed Sergey Tolchinsky in 2013 after his first season in the CHL. An entry-level contract was a small risk to sign a player who showed such impressive skill as a rookie in the OHL, scoring 26 goals and 51 points in 2012-13. He’d follow it up with two 90+ point seasons for the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds, leading many to believe that even though he was undersized he may have an NHL future.

Well, after three seasons in the AHL and just a handle of NHL appearances, it appears the relationship is over. In today’s article for the Charlotte Checkers’ website, Nicholas Niedzielski reports that Tolchinsky has left the team and returned home to Russia. “He didn’t want to be a part of the team, so we granted his wish,” said head coach Mike Vellucci. Tolchinsky was scheduled to become a restricted free agent this summer, and the Hurricanes will retain his NHL rights by issuing a qualifying offer if they so choose.

  • Another player who feels different about his NHL club is Maxim Shalunov, who still expects to join the Chicago Blackhawks at some point down the road. As Scott Powers of The Athletic (subscription required) writes, Shalunov himself has admitted he wants to head to the NHL after his current contract with CSKA Moscow expires. That’s not for another two years, but the Blackhawks don’t mind waiting for the talented winger. Standing 6’4″ 215-lbs, the 25-year old has a big shot and recorded 20 goals in 46 games for CSKA this season. Scoring two more points today at the IIHF World Championships, he could inject some serious offensive power into the Blackhawks lineup whenever he does come over.
  • Speaking of success at the Worlds, Minnesota Wild draft pick Kirill Kaprizov continues to show why he’s regarded as one of the top offensive talents outside of the NHL. He scored his tournament-leading (tied with Sebastian Aho) fourth goal today, giving him six points through three games to tie him with Pavel Datsyuk for the lead on Team Russia. After a frosty start to their relationship, Kaprizov and Minnesota seem to be heading towards a contract of some sort down the line—though it still might have to wait a few more years. The 21-year old forward scored 40 points in 46 games for CSKA this season.

Snapshots: Stars Goaltending, Guentzel, Kane, Shalunov

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Armed with a new head coach, the Dallas Stars can begin to get to work to fixing their team after the team failed to qualify for the playoffs despite a flurry of offseason moves last year. While, the team has many issues to deal with, one key area of need is finding a quality back-up goaltender.

The team is finally released from a five-year, $29.5MM deal it gave to eventual backup Kari Lehtonen. However, the $5.9MM AAV for a player who produced a 2.56 GAA and a .912 wasn’t worth it. On top of that, at age 34, the team needs a backup that can take over the workload for oft-injured starter Ben Bishop.

SportsDay’s Mike Heika writes there are several potential options for Dallas, but the best-case scenario would be for the Stars to chase Carter Hutton, who backed up Jake Allen last year. Hutton, who could easily fill in full-time in case Bishop gets hurt, could also be expensive as the 32-year-old veteran may hope to land a starting job somewhere. He was 17-7-3 last year with a 2.09 GAA in 32 games this past year in St. Louis. Other options would consist of Jonathan Bernier, Andrew Hammond, Michael Hutchinson and Anton Khudobin.

  • While it may not come as a surprise, the Washington Post’s Isabelle Khurshudyan reports that the NHL Department of Player Safety does not intend to have a hearing with Pittsburgh Penguins Jake Guentzel, who hit John Carlson during Saturday’s game against the Washington Capitals. Despite complaints from Capitals head coach Barry Trotz, Khurshudyan the league felt it was a full-body hit.
  • With the season on the line, The Athletic’s Kevin Kurz (subscription required) writes that while San Jose Sharks’ trade deadline acquisition Evander Kane has been highly successful since coming over from Buffalo, that hasn’t been the case during the team’s second-round series against the Vegas Golden Knights. Kane has scored just one point in the series and the team will need them to pull off a two-game sweep to advance to the conference finals. Kurz wonders whether Kane’s health has been an issue as he has skipped the morning skate for both of the team’s last two games.
  • Chicago Blackhawks prospect Maxim Shalunov has been improving steadily in the KHL and the 2011 fourth-round prospect is looking more interesting, but The Athletic’s Scott Powers (subscription required) writes that the 25-year-old is still two years away from reaching Chicago after he signed a three-year extension to remain in the KHL last offseason. As Shalunov has developed in Russia, he’s also received more attention recently from the Russian national team and while he didn’t get the invitation to the Olympics that he was hoping for, he did get the invite to play in the World Championships.

Five Russian Players Not Invited To Participate At Olympics

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The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has extended invitations to 42 of the 47 players submitted by the Russian Ice Hockey Federation (RIHF) for consideration for the upcoming Games. Interestingly though, the IOC did not invite the following players to participate:

D Anton Belov
D Alexei Bereglazov
D Mikhail Naumenkov
F Valeri Nichushkin
F Sergei Plotnikov

The RIHF released a statement following the decision, stating that the five players have not been banned from international competitions and are not guilty of any doping violations. Still, the reasons for the snub have not been given and the RIHF has reached out for some clarity.

These would seem to be fairly important omissions for Russia, especially on defense where the club is relatively thin. By looking at the remaining names that did receive invitations one can start to see how the team will be made up. 25 names that make up the roster will will be released on Thursday.

F Sergei Andronov
F Alexander Barabanov
F Anton Burdasov
D Vyacheslav Voynov
D Vladislav Gavrikov
F Nikita Gusev
F Mikhail Grigorenko
F Pavel Datsyuk
G Vasily Demchenko
D Artyom Zub
D Andrei Zubarev
F Sergey Kalinin
F Kirill Kaprizov
D Bogdan Kiselevich
F Ilya Kovalchuk
G Vasily Koshechkin
F Ilya Kablukov
F Evgeny Ketov
F Pavel Kraskovsky
F Yegor Korshkov
F Roman Lyubimov
D Ilya Lyubushkin
D Alexey Marchenko
F Sergei Mozyakin
D Nikita Nesterov
F Nikolai Prokhorkin
D Yegor Rykov
G Ilya Samsonov
F Andrei Svetlakov
G Ilya Sorokin
F Viktor Tikhonov
F Ivan Telegin
F Vladimir Tkachyov (unclear which one)
D Nikita Tryamkin
F Maxim Shalunov
G Alexander Sharychenkov
F Sergei Shirokov
F Vadim Shipachyov
F Sergei Shumakov
G Igor Shestyorkin
F Dinar Khafizullin
D Yegor Yakovlev

Conspicuously missing is Andrei Markov, who has had a very successful season for Ak-Bars in the KHL after leaving the Montreal Canadiens, scoring 28 points in 52 games. Why he was left off the preliminary list is unclear, though perhaps they wanted to go in a younger direction on defense.

Snapshots: Shalunov, Prust, Dorsett

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The Chicago Blackhawks were disappointed when Maxim Shalunov signed a three-year deal in the KHL, but Scott Powers of The Athletic writes that doesn’t necessarily mean he’ll be out of their plans for that long. As we’ve seen multiple times over the past year, KHL contracts can be terminated early to allow players to come over to the NHL.

Remember this year that an entire team’s contracts were terminated after their new owners refused to pay debts. While that’s not going to happen to Shalunov’s new team, CSKA Moscow, there are always ways around their contracts.

  • Brandon Prust will be in NHL training camp again this year, as according to Jon Rosen of LA Kings Insider, he’ll be in Los Angeles come September. Prust spent last season playing in Germany after going through training camp with the Maple Leafs, and has been clear about his desire to return to the NHL. It’s unlikely that he’ll earn a contract, but perhaps Los Angeles will have room for a fourth-line veteran.
  • Derek Dorsett underwent surgery on his neck in December but is now on track to be ready for the start of the season. Rick Dhaliwal of NEWS 1130 in Vancouver reports that Dorsett has “no issues with his neck” and that he’s already skating to get ready for training camp. He played just 14 games for the Canucks last year, but has been a fairly effective bottom-six player for his career. In 2014-15 he set a career-high with 25 points, and will be in the lineup more than not to protect the young players Vancouver is set to use this year.

Maxim Shalunov Still In Blackhawks’ Future Plans

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When negotiations were ended in early April between Maxim Shalunov and the Chicago Blackhawks, it was reported that part of the reason was due to the NHL’s decision not to go to the Olympics. Turns out, according to Scott Powers of The Athletic, that the Blackhawks didn’t push very hard for him this season and are actually fine with him developing in Russia for the time being. Shalunov signed a three-year deal with his KHL club Novosibirsk Sibir before being traded to the powerhouse CSKA Moscow team. Powers writes that the Blackhawks weren’t convinced he’d score right away in the NHL, something that is important for his game. His agent echoed though that Shalunov “100%” expects to come to the NHL after the three year contract expires.

Shalunov was a fourth-round pick of the Blackhawks in 2011, and dominated the Russian junior league before coming to North America for a taste of the minor-league professional ranks in 2013-14. After playing in the AHL and ECHL for a season, he returned to the KHL more well-rounded and has started to use his size and scoring ability more and more. This year the 6’4″ forward scored 19 goals and 37 points in 49 games, leading his club. He’ll be hard pressed to repeat that on the stronger CSKA team, but will also be surrounded by more talent.

The Hawks will retain his rights for the time being and wait for him to come over as a in-his-prime 26-year old ready to contribute to their top-six right away. The big, heavy forward should be ready to take on a big role with the team then, as long as nothing comes between the two sides in the next few years. Whether the Olympic decision had anything to do with it or not, Shalunov will get a chance to compete for a spot at the Games, especially if the NHL punishes any players hoping to go anyway.

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