Confirmed Signing with Link: Nichushkin signs with CSKA(KHL) for 2 years
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LordHelmet
Registered User
As a Stars fan this isn't the worst news. I'm not glad to see it happen, but he wasn't exactly a key piece over the last couple of years, so i don't see any impact to our playoff chances.
Because of this, letting him go to Russia is actually pretty shrewd in my mind.
- Possibly frees up expansion draft protection slot
- If not, leaving him unprotected is an easy decision. Either he's semi-protected because LV is scared of taking him and we retain his rights, or if LV does take him then his rights are easy for us to lose.
- Frees up roster space & cap space
- We retain his rights until he's 27. If he becomes a world-class talent in Russia, Dallas can either work on bringing him back, or trade his rights to an Eastern conference team for a valuable asset.
So bottom line - worst case for us is that he goes over there & disappears. In which case, the Stars continue along merrily having already upgraded (Hudler) the league's top offense.
HF will decry the lost value of the draft pick, but as long as the goals & wins are coming, i don't think Stars fans will be shedding too many tears.
Because of this, letting him go to Russia is actually pretty shrewd in my mind.
- Possibly frees up expansion draft protection slot
- If not, leaving him unprotected is an easy decision. Either he's semi-protected because LV is scared of taking him and we retain his rights, or if LV does take him then his rights are easy for us to lose.
- Frees up roster space & cap space
- We retain his rights until he's 27. If he becomes a world-class talent in Russia, Dallas can either work on bringing him back, or trade his rights to an Eastern conference team for a valuable asset.
So bottom line - worst case for us is that he goes over there & disappears. In which case, the Stars continue along merrily having already upgraded (Hudler) the league's top offense.
HF will decry the lost value of the draft pick, but as long as the goals & wins are coming, i don't think Stars fans will be shedding too many tears.
KrisLetAngry
MrJukeBoy
N
However if he does develop with all this time or even one year I'd say it is worth it.
I can see him coming back if he proves himself. He needs time to kick some Russian ass
I'm not a fan of him leaving.
However if he does develop with all this time or even one year I'd say it is worth it.
I can see him coming back if he proves himself. He needs time to kick some Russian ass
TheTakedown
Puck is Life
- Jul 11, 2012
- 13,693
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Exactly my thought as a Rangers fan. Dallas did the right thing by letting him go back to Russia. Nuch will pump his value back up very high if he becomes as good as he projects to be, and Dallas can then either pull him over, or trade him for additional assets or for a position of need (defense or goaltending).
Troy McClure
Should’ve drafted Makar
I think most posters here in their chosen professions, if having to choose between (a) making a good wage close to home with an employer that values you or (b) making less money 3000miles away for an employer that sees you as just a guy....would easily choose the former, yet we don't hate on them like we do on Russian hockey players.
That said, drafting Russians in the top 10 is probably generally over, as NHL owners can't use and abuse them like the North American kids with them having a viable option at home. The idea they "just can't hack it" is Cherry-esque/Trump-esque patriotism. If Tanner Glass can find work, then Nuke could have done alright
Sure, but I also think people are not getting the money thing right. We all know he is going to make more now than the one-year deal the Stars were offering, but the upside from a good season would be much higher in the NHL.
It he had a great season for the Stars, he could have gotten a huge raise next summer.
Now that he's in the KHL, I don't think any amount of improvement will see him get near as money as he'd see from an NHL contract. Even after two years pass, I doubt the Stars give him a big contract to come back.
Until recently they've been fairly popular here in detroit as well. Indeed part of the reason we picked up Marchenko in the 7th is because it was common knowledge he was a wings fan. We haven't drafted that many Russians, but most who have played for the wings have left on good terms, bar Fedorov, and after the preceding 14 years, any complaints would be fairly churlish.
The Russian factor is far more to do with stylistic incompability of many skilled Russians fitting into NHL systems led snooze hockey, which for all its effectiveness is dull and stymies creativity. Russian coached players tend to trained in a different way, that means some struggle to adapt. And under those circumstances, being a sheltered PP guy averaging 12-15 mins a night and getting paid $1-2m for any number of coaches you might not like, or going home to get paid more money to play more in a system that suits you better is not that surprising a choice.
Also lets face it (not saying it applies in this case) - lots of people coaching in the NHL hold the same insane 1960s Don Cherry fed pseudo Cold-War ideals that a few have exhibited in this thread. But then in Hockey all kinds of casual racism still lingers...
Dr Pepper
Registered User
I'd also like to know what was said here, anyone care to translate for us anglophones?
IIRC Nill drafted some Russians is Detroit that turned out to be decent.
Much as we all liked Nill in Detroit, trying to give him any credit for the Russians that played here is not much a stretch as a fantasy. Indeed the only Russians that made it from draft to the NHL during his time there were both Hakan Specials, and Dats was a player that literally no-one else in the NHL had ever seen. That said, Nill was involved in drafting Russians in detroit, but they just didn;t work out. A few were just awful and Grigorenko nearly died in a car crash when he looked like the real deal.
Maurice of Orange
13:21 🏒🏒
- Feb 5, 2016
- 10,933
- 7,473
FlareKnight
Registered User
In the end it could be win/win for both sides. He gets playing time and develops in Russia and can still come back to Dallas a much better player.
Maurice of Orange
13:21 🏒🏒
- Feb 5, 2016
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If Valeri Nichushkin comes back to Dallas after 2 years in the KHL, Nichushkin will be 24 years old and he'll have two years of KHL development time under his belt, so this may be a good thing for Dallas in the long run if Nuke returns after 2 seasons in the KHL.
Nichushkin has 166 games of NHL experience plus 10 playoff games in the NHL, so with a little more seasoning Nichushkin could become a really good player in time.
Only time will tell.... until next time... Valeri "Nuke" Nichushkin
Shootertooter
Registered User
- Feb 20, 2016
- 3,676
- 1,487
Why would he come back before he is a free agent able to pick his team and negotiate on his terms? If he succeeds in the KHL he will stay there until FA. If he flops no one will want him. Do not see how this helps Dallas.
Nucker101
Foundational Poster
- Apr 2, 2013
- 22,537
- 19,185
Yeah crazy that a Russian kid wants to play in Russia in his own culture, speaking his own language being around his family. Maybe if he got to play in a real hockey city. I know plenty of people in North America who wouldn't live in Dallas me included.
Alexander the Gr8
Registered User
Amen, I agree with everything you said. The Wings have been the gold standard for drafting and developing players for the past 20 years, and they aren't afraid to draft Russians. For a long time, the Wings' system gave a lot of freedom to the skilled European forwards they brought in, while retaining some of the NA grit in their depth.
Some teams are afraid to draft Russians due to past experiences with them, but those who say that they would never draft a Russian again in the top 10 have no idea what they're talking about. What if another Ovechkin/Malkin type of talent appears in the draft? Anyone would use a top 10 pick to draft a player of that level, without paying attention to the player's citizenship.
Don Cherry is a cancer to hockey, the sooner he and the other dinosaurs disappear off the TV, the better it will be for the future of hockey. The NHL should encourage the Russians and other Europeans to influence the style of the league. Fortunately, it seems we are trending in the right direction. The NHL is more skill and speed-oriented than before, as we can see with team NA.
I'd also like to know what was said here, anyone care to translate for us anglophones?
Nothing special. He was asked about his first impressions. He answered that he liked the ice and that he had no problem with rink size because he spent his summer training on such. He also said that his friends and family are happy that he returned to Russia and that he won't have problems to fit in CSKA because he met most of his teammates here or there.
I think you're exaggerating with "real hockey city". Moscow is a megacity and they're pretty similar all over the world - out of 17m people living in agglomeration only a small handful actually cares about hockey.
But yes, I can see most of Russian players having a hard time blending in US culture so returning to Russia could be a relief.
Even in his best, first, 14 goal season, his hands never looked like they matched his skating. It took 20 games, and about as many missed breakaway or other great chances to score his first goal. 20 games for first goal is not unusual for an 18 year old NHL rookie, but it was the way he missed.
His first goal was a wicked wrister in Ottawa. Can only recall one highlight type goal (among 9) last year.
My fear was starting to be that he was one of those guys with NHL skating, but a notch below shot, maybe only AHL level. That might translate to some nice goal scoring in the KHL, and he could still come up short of expectations when back in the NHL. Not that the Stars wouldn't give him a shot if he posted back to back 25-30 goal campaigns, and he was all right with, or they had moved on from Lindy Ruff.
His first goal was a wicked wrister in Ottawa. Can only recall one highlight type goal (among 9) last year.
My fear was starting to be that he was one of those guys with NHL skating, but a notch below shot, maybe only AHL level. That might translate to some nice goal scoring in the KHL, and he could still come up short of expectations when back in the NHL. Not that the Stars wouldn't give him a shot if he posted back to back 25-30 goal campaigns, and he was all right with, or they had moved on from Lindy Ruff.
glovesave_35
Name
Nichushkin liked Dallas plenty when he got to ride shotgun with Benn and Seguin. The city most likely has zero to do with it.
The rest has been covered over and over so I won't bother again.
Zobitembois
Devilsfanindisguise
- Jan 25, 2011
- 625
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mc3488
Registered User
Troy McClure
Should’ve drafted Makar
When Zubov moved from Pittsburgh to Dallas, he was upset at first because he was leaving a city with a decent-sized Russian community. He ended up finding the Russians in Dallas and settled in well. Dallas isn't known for the same kinds of ethnic neighborhoods that older cities have, but Dallas is also big enough you can find pretty much any demographic you want to hang out with.
Of course, Zubov was in a different situation. He was married with kids.
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