Friday's notes: Going mad for A-Rad
by Dirk Hoag on May 13, 2011 9:58 AM EDT
in Nashville Predators News
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A seemingly innocuous comment by David Poile a couple days ago has spread like wildfire over the last 48 hours, fueling speculation about a possible return to Nashville for Alexander Radulov. During the team's season-ending press conference, Poile recounted a conversation that assistant GM Paul Fenton had with Radulov at the World Championships, wherein Fenton floated the notion of trading Radulov's rights to another team, after which Radulov said no, he'd rather play in Nashville.
That then got picked up in the Russian press as an actual quote from Radulov that he wanted to return to Nashville, and things lifted off from there. Nobody's saying anything substantive on that front, however. Radulov's North American agent, Jay Grossman, has no comment on the matter, so until we see something actually occur, it's best not to get too excited over this.
Following the jump, however, we do have an interesting report about a situation which might (and I emphasize might) lead to just such a return.
While reading the morning links, make sure to listen in as Pete Weber joined Hockey Night In Canada Radio yesterday:
Pete Weber on HNIC Radio 20110511 (MP3)
Nashville Predators News
How KHL money issues will send Alex Radulov back to NHL - Puck Daddy
Interesting speculation from Dmitry Chesnokov, that financial difficulties may lead Salavat Yulaev to part ways with Alexander Radulov, freeing him up to return to Nashville. Something similar happened with Jiri Hudler last summer. Forbes reported that last year, the "charitable" foundation which provides most of the team's funding gave Salavat Yulaev $93 million, so we'll have to see just how significant these cuts are, and whether that forces their hand with Radulov. Read that Forbes report, and check out how much of that money went to the team's general director. Let's just say that the KHL is, well, quite different from the NHL.
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Hockey Canada could always take a hardline stance
If you aren’t at least willing to play in the IIHF worlds, then you don’t get considered for Olympic play. Not saying that is a good idea, or I even like the idea, just an idea. Yet, if take a second to look at Canada’s roster for this years WC… it’s not like they were a weak team.
Team USA suffered from an even worse participation level from it’s elite players. Backes, Brown, Cole, Kane were among a bunch of no shows for us. Maybe some were injured, who knows.
by Grizzledbear on May 13, 2011 11:16 AM EDT via mobile up reply actions
Pipe dream
I’ll be shocked if Rads comes back. Didn’t he just sell his condo this year and we joked that at least he honored some contracts?
No, he paid off the mortgage on his condo, but hasn’t sold it. JR reported that a while back in a FanPost here.
Managing Editor of On the Forecheck, SB Nation's blog covering the Nashville Predators. Catch me on Twitter, or join our site on Facebook!
I hope
that Rads does not get car bombed by the Russian Mafia after that statement!
"I had all my own teeth and I wanted to keep it that way." - Tom Glavine
All hockey players are bilingual. They know English and profanity.
Gordie Howe
I’m sure once Rads is confronted by the Russian mob, umm, media about the situation, he’ll refute any notion of him going back to the NHL. As long as they keep showing him the ruble, he’ll be staying in the KHL.
by Grizzledbear on May 13, 2011 11:24 AM EDT via mobile up reply actions
I truly hated what Radulov did to us, especially durig the turmoil we were facing but...
I gotta look at this from a HardCorePredFan point of view. He would really help our team offensively which is what we sorely need. He brings energy and toughness and amazing skills. If we want to get to the next level, especially after our most successful year (which I wonder how much that might affect Rads decision and Arnott not being here helps) we truly need a sniper, a true scoring threat, ad if we can get him for peanuts because of his original contract, that’s all the better.
Correct me if I’m wrong, but when Rads contract runs out here, is he an RFA?
by HardCorePredFan316 on May 13, 2011 10:46 AM EDT reply actions
Yes, he will be an RFA
Managing Editor of On the Forecheck, SB Nation's blog covering the Nashville Predators. Catch me on Twitter, or join our site on Facebook!
Even if he turns 27 years old? Not sure of his exact age at the moment.
by Grizzledbear on May 13, 2011 11:25 AM EDT via mobile up reply actions
He turns 25 in July
As I said, he’ll be an RFA after the final year of his current deal.
Managing Editor of On the Forecheck, SB Nation's blog covering the Nashville Predators. Catch me on Twitter, or join our site on Facebook!
What would happen if he waited til he was 26 and then played out the final year of his deal, would he still be an RFA or would his turning 27 automatically put him in UFA territory?
by Grizzledbear on May 13, 2011 1:02 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
It takes a combination of age & experience, to be a free agent at 27 I think you have to have 7 years of NHL experience, which he wouldn’t have, either.
Managing Editor of On the Forecheck, SB Nation's blog covering the Nashville Predators. Catch me on Twitter, or join our site on Facebook!
Plus
we dont want him anywhere else playing against us.
"I had all my own teeth and I wanted to keep it that way." - Tom Glavine
All hockey players are bilingual. They know English and profanity.
Gordie Howe
if A Rad comes back the team should play a little joke on him to break the ice and go to Russia
I'm sent here by the chosen one
by Creeping Death on May 13, 2011 12:00 PM EDT reply actions
Please come back, Rad! You are our only hope! We need a scorer! Make it so!
"I am you, you are me, and we are all together" Beatles
Not sure about all that
We’ve been just fine without him and all the drama that comes with him
Guys like Kariya and Sully in their primes were the biggest reason we had a better PP back in those days. But trading Rads rights to another team for a skilled forward would improve our PP. :p
by Grizzledbear on May 13, 2011 8:27 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
Break the bank for the Cup!
I’d prefer we’d have both like Lindback+Eliis+conditional picks to Wash for Ovie as bait to get Rads’ ass back here.
"My, my, here's one for the (no) neck. Don't relax, 'cause you're next for the check!"
Mixing Star Wars and Star Trek references in one comment?
by OddManRush on May 13, 2011 1:31 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
Yeah, that’s like dogs and cats sleeping together.
So, my tactic with conservation of apex predators is to get people excited and take them to where they live.
~Steve Irwin
There is no tenderness or humanity in fanaticism.
~Joe Strummer
my roommate has that movie
I'm sent here by the chosen one
by Creeping Death on May 14, 2011 8:15 PM EDT up reply actions
I love A-Rad stories!
Entertainment folks, pure entertainment.
EASports' NHL 11 doesn't suck; in fact, it's really damn good! Wait, what!?
Go Predators!!!
my least favorite Radulov story is the one where he leaves town. That one sucked
I'm sent here by the chosen one
by Creeping Death on May 13, 2011 2:49 PM EDT up reply actions
I looked up his stats, and he has scored 22, 24, and 20 goals there. Why did I think that he was a 40 or 50 goal scorer?
80 points in 56 games
20 G, 60 A
Against lesser competition though…
Rads could end up suffering from the Jiri Hudler syndrom if he came back here. The coaching and talent level in the KHL is not in the same league as the NHL, which could see a decline in his playing abilities.
by Grizzledbear on May 13, 2011 6:14 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
Potential being the key word……..
by Grizzledbear on May 13, 2011 8:23 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
Just send Weber on a mission over to Russia to retrieve Radulov....
and he’ll take out the mafiosos on the way with his killer slapshot and icy glare. ;)
"My, my, here's one for the (no) neck. Don't relax, 'cause you're next for the check!"
This is a flawless plan
Rad could never escape a Weber horse collar.
"Boom goes the beard."
by Marcus Newman on May 13, 2011 5:16 PM EDT up reply actions
On Boullion interview,
Good insight into how season/career injury can affect a family dynamic. Some stuff you don’t hear that much about, really. Surprisingly candid, I thought.
So, my tactic with conservation of apex predators is to get people excited and take them to where they live.
~Steve Irwin
There is no tenderness or humanity in fanaticism.
~Joe Strummer
A question for the ARad will save us crowd......
If, as some suppose, Rads is the missing piece between the Preds and Lord Stanley, is not his leaving the team the reason that we didn’t advance further in the playoffs this season? “But he left because of that big, mean ogert named Jason Arnott” you say! Then why, when Jason the Brute was traded early in the summer last year, did the great ARad not hop right on an Air Russia flight to be where he’s always wanted to be? Instead, he signed a new three year deal with his KHL team.
That this doesn’t seem to bother some here in the slightest is very odd to me. His absense from the team may be why we’ll be watching the Sharks in the semi-finals instead of playing them! Really takes liking a player to overlook all that.
by Grizzledbear on May 13, 2011 11:15 PM EDT via mobile reply actions
I don’t think he left because of Arnott, or at least JUST because of Arnott. He was offered more money, wanted to be near his home, was concerned with the ownership issues…all things that weighed more into his decision I think than whatever relationship he and Arny had.
And I agree he could’ve brought the team to SCF this year, would he have been here? Or would he have been traded like Timonen or Hartnell? It’s hard to say.
"My, my, here's one for the (no) neck. Don't relax, 'cause you're next for the check!"
I know you’re not buying the Arnott story (neither do I), but that seems to be the favorite line for why Rads left.
As far as the money goes, he’ll still make more money over there, for one season at least, than he’ll make over here. When you think about it, Rads could actually be making more money now if hadn’t bolted for Mother Russia (a great song by the classic rock band Renessaince by the way).
by Grizzledbear on May 13, 2011 11:44 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
Well, he’s the best option we’ve got really if he comes back. If we can sign him for a couple more years at a higher pay with a bonus at the end of this season/beginning of next season – maybe that will work.
I’m optimistic about his return because he’s done everything he can really in that league, but I’m also not holding my breath.
"My, my, here's one for the (no) neck. Don't relax, 'cause you're next for the check!"
In terms if cost, he would give us the most offense for the money we could likely find. But does anyone think he would sign for anything less than the 4M+ range when his agent goes to negotiate a new contract for him? If one year at a bargain price is the upshot of bringing him back, that’s not all that compelling, IMHO. I’d rather spend that 4M this season on someone else, quite frankly.
by Grizzledbear on May 14, 2011 12:01 AM EDT via mobile up reply actions
Who would you want at that price? We aren’t getting any Brad Richards or Zach Parise at $4 mil, that’s for sure. Connolly then? Jokinen? I rather not have another half-measure and get REAL scoring talent.
"My, my, here's one for the (no) neck. Don't relax, 'cause you're next for the check!"
Well, that depends on what kind of salary we might send back the other way in a trade. We can’t afford Richards and the other UFA’s out there are 2nd tier scorers, not the big gun we need, so the trade route looks like the way to go. If, just to use an example, we sent Wilson as part of a package to the Devils for Parise (and for the record, I like Wilson and would only part with him if it were for a top tier player like a Parise), that would be 1.7M to go with the approx. 4M we would have to pay a guy like Parise. It certainly gets you close to having the needed money to pay a top player at least.
by Grizzledbear on May 14, 2011 12:53 AM EDT via mobile up reply actions
In any sport, 3 things are needed to WIN championships; Talent, Talent & Talent. Whether you like or loath Radulov, he has talent. I have confidence in our brass to make this happen if it can happen.
But is Rads the only talented player that we could obtain? That’s the big question.
by Grizzledbear on May 14, 2011 2:27 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
In other words........
You can’t refute anything I’ve said about the Rads situation, so you resort to name calling. Sorry, but I don’t have man crushes on players like you apparently have with Rads……..
by Grizzledbear on May 14, 2011 4:34 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
Don't doubt the bear.......
It can only lead to disappointment. :p
by Grizzledbear on May 15, 2011 7:17 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
Just put a URL in the text, it'll automatically turn into a link
Managing Editor of On the Forecheck, SB Nation's blog covering the Nashville Predators. Catch me on Twitter, or join our site on Facebook!
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