I wouldn't read into all this too much.
Iskhakov has shown what he can (and can't) do for 2 straight years now in the AHL. There were some good things and a few real nice highlights. There were some undeniable deficiencies as well.
He is what he is - and what he is is not something we have space for in the line-up. Certainly not as an everyday regular.
And even if he's right below his "best possible scenario", his package is a conundrum for a player of his ilk.
And it's not like it's the conundrum the majority of us right here didn't see coming right from Day 1 of his drafting.
There's really not much he hasn't done to get to this point as a pro. He's definitely grown and enhanced his game. The team will have his rights for another two years.
But he needs to be Marty St. Louis or Johnny Gaudreau good to be a regular NHLer. And he's never had their wheels. He certainly doesn't have St. Louis' legs or Gaudreau's shiftiness.
Here's hoping he kills it in the KHL.
Here's hoping he gets to where he'd need to be in order to become someone for this team.
Or someone another team would trade for.