Prospect Info: #129 Arseny Gritsyuk RW

Ripshot 43

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Jul 21, 2010
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Hey, I was defending you. I don't think you should have aged out of the prospect pool.
I’m still training

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Zine

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Feb 28, 2002
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It's pretty much guaranteed he is coming here now like Fitzgerald said a year ago. I'm thinking the Devils are promising him NHL action when he arrives after his KHL season ends.

With the KHL lengthening their season there's probably a decent shot we're done before they're done or they'd have to be throwing him right into the fire with no adjustment period and probably won't want to do that.

I think the carrot will be registering the contract for the current season which would result in Gritsyuk being RFA in the offseason. And then he could make some guaranteed money for 2025-26.

As others said, the KHL/NHL playoff overlap will be longer with their schedule change. Might be tough to ask the coach to insert an unproven guy into playoff action; Albeit some NCAA guys have done it like Luke, Cale Makar, Charlie McAvoy, Chris Kreider.

But I'd think Gritsyuk's situation would be similar to when Nikita Gusev signed with Vegas when they had already started their opening round series against San Jose in 2018. Gusev had a couple practices with Vegas, but I don't think they considered throwing him into the deep end. Maybe he would have been a consideration if they had advanced further. In Gritsyuk's case, I don't know if he'd displace somebody like Tatar for the playoffs but he could easily inherit that spot for next season.

Thing is, all expiring KHL contracts for this upcoming season run through 25 May regardless of playoffs.

It could be, in exchange for a pay cut, SKA agreed to release Gritsyuk immediately after their final playoff game. KHL playoffs start 26 March. Not sure how that correlates to NHL's schedule though.

It could perhaps explain his agent's cryptic statement about looking towards the future.
 
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tunnelvision

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Came across this recent Gritsyuk interview...


- You said that you might leave in a year. How much interest do New Jersey have in you?

— We called each other a couple of times in the summer. We just discussed my plans for next year and what I was thinking about doing in the next offseason. It’s clear that they are still interested in me. But I don’t really understand their interest yet. My agent Shumi Babayev is in touch with them more. Of course, if there is interest from the NHL, I’d like to go there and try my hand at that league. But if they’re not particularly interested in me, we’ll decide next summer.
 
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Lou is God

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Came across this recent Gritsyuk interview...

"But I don't really understand their interest yet"

Has to be an error in translation.
 

Guadana

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"But I don't really understand their interest yet"

Has to be an error in translation.
Where's @Guadana when we need him? :)


Thats what he really said.

If we would have memory and brains, we would not tell things like "i don't think he will come to NA, he is so old if he would want to play in NHL he would already do it" or things like that, because Gritstyuk wait many times he want to play in nhl, he said many times he has connections with the club. Before sign of his last two contracts he said that Devils said they want him to stay and play In KHL if he has good opportunity to develop his game (they are not against). He said he has two calls this summer and Devils were very... not dive into details. They just asked him about plans for the season. So he isn't sure how many interest Devils have. He said his agent has more connections with Devils. He said he is now watching more highlights of Devils and next season he will watch more tapes he is very interested in NHL and hope Devils have plans for him but if they don't he will make decision next summer.
I think if Fitz is continuing to connect as he likes to connect without specifics - Gritsyuk can have questions about his future especially after his friends Shakir and Zakhar were traded.

So he wants and plan to play next season in NHL for Devils after next season but he isn't sure what Devils plan on him. He is very intriguing by the opportunity to play against McLeod. He is connecting with Chinakhov and Marchenko, and both told that McLeod is hard to play against and Devils used him in the ends of the games.
 

My3Sons

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Thats what he really said.

If we would have memory and brains, we would not tell things like "i don't think he will come to NA, he is so old if he would want to play in NHL he would already do it" or things like that, because Gritstyuk wait many times he want to play in nhl, he said many times he has connections with the club. Before sign of his last two contracts he said that Devils said they want him to stay and play In KHL if he has good opportunity to develop his game (they are not against). He said he has two calls this summer and Devils were very... not dive into details. They just asked him about plans for the season. So he isn't sure how many interest Devils have. He said his agent has more connections with Devils. He said he is now watching more highlights of Devils and next season he will watch more tapes he is very interested in NHL and hope Devils have plans for him but if they don't he will make decision next summer.
I think if Fitz is continuing to connect as he likes to connect without specifics - Gritsyuk can have questions about his future especially after his friends Shakir and Zakhar were traded.

So he wants and plan to play next season in NHL for Devils after next season but he isn't sure what Devils plan on him. He is very intriguing by the opportunity to play against McLeod. He is connecting with Chinakhov and Marchenko, and both told that McLeod is hard to play against and Devils used him in the ends of the games.
I'm surprised he is not sure about the Devils' level of interest. You'd think they would have welcomed him with open arms at this point. I can't imagine they'd rather have Tatar than Gritsyuk for example.
 

Guadana

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I'm surprised he is not sure about the Devils' level of interest. You'd think they would have welcomed him with open arms at this point. I can't imagine they'd rather have Tatar than Gritsyuk for example.
I think he means AHL vs NHL. If the Devils want him to start in Utica, he won't play in the AHL.
I dont think they are planing him as AHLer from the start but if they dont give him clear answer - it could be one of a problem. Overall we just dont know what is going on with this calls, what kind of expectations everybody have etc. And we dont actually know what he said exactly. Because it is a text interview, journalists can change the text and it can looked differently in details. Because from this interview Gritsyuk is using much more literatur...ic Russian, in real life he is more simple talker. We can just overreact.
 

devilsblood

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Mar 10, 2010
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He's going to be 24 at the start of next season. He shouldn't need time in the AHL.

Edit: I wonder if this isn't some sort of negotiating play by Fitz.
 
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Bad Goalie

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He's going to be 24 at the start of next season. He shouldn't need time in the AHL.

Edit: I wonder if this isn't some sort of negotiating play by Fitz.
"some sort of negotiating play by Fitz."

Sometimes one can get too cute for one's own good. Just get this guy over here. He doesn't HAVE to come over. He has a good deal where he is and playing games just might make him change his mind. Unless he's holding out for bigger bucks without having proven a thing, then the blame would be on him.
 
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devilsblood

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"some sort of negotiating play by Fitz."

Sometimes one can get too cute for one's own good. Just get this guy over here. He doesn't HAVE to come over. He has a good deal where he is and playing games just might make him change his mind. Unless he's holding out for bigger bucks without having proven a thing, then the blame would be on him.
He's already shown he's not in a rush to come over. This is somewhat speculative but he also sounds reluctant to the idea of spending time in the AHL. Maybe that's been part of the hold up for a year or two. Would he rather play in his home countries top league, or travel half way around the world and play in our minor league?

Not sure what the comparison is in terms of what his salary would have been in the AHL vs his current deal, or what NJ would like to spend compared to what he could make in the KHL on his next contract.
 

Bad Goalie

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NJ can sign him for what they want within the rules for a rookie. I believe he would have to be signed to an ELC contract, but they could sign him to the max amount. He gets the same amount in either NJ or Utica on a 1-way NJ deal, but there is a maximum amount that they can keep from counting against the cap, but the rest counts. He very likely makes less in NA when he starts here no matter which league he's in. They can burn time off that ELC by playing him x number of games in NJ. He will have to play in NA a while before he gets a bigger contract.

He has to decide if the NHL is worth a cut in pay before he earns a bigger paycheck and that will be determined by just how good he actually is. Then again, I don't know how much he is actually making in the KHL. Maybe money is not the issue. Maybe it's a cut and dried NHL or I'm back in the KHL. Others have given their NHL teams such an ultimatum and the NHL team has said so be it. Blackmail doesn't work with some GMs.

Somebody who actually knows the way these financial issues work can clear this all up for us. There are rules.
 

Devils731

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Jun 23, 2008
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Then again, I don't know how much he is actually making in the KHL.
He actually took a big pay cut this year so the team could sign other players.

I don’t know if this is because he wants to win it all in his final year or because his team strong armed him into it; either way it points towards him seeing his future in the NHL next year.

 

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