Photo Credit: Yahoo Sports
For the past few seasons, the collective complaint of Nashville Predators fanbase has been nothing if not consistent: we need a high-end scorer.
Don’t believe me? Read my past blogs…how many of them did I not mention it, at least in passing? Now, I don’t claim to be the mouthpiece for Preds fans on the whole, but I like to think that my finger is at least somewhat on the pulse. I read your tweets, your blogs, your messageboard rantings. I listen to the shouts and groans at games.
For the most part, a particular tie binds the community voice: we need more goals!!
So when the trade deadline came and went without the landing of a big(read: Parise, Nash, Ryan) fish, there was at least a modicum of disappointment.
Well, it could be that the only guy the Predators have ever drafted that could be classified as a “deadly” sniper could just be on the horizon to save the day.
For the past several weeks, the hubbub on the interwebz has been that Radulov was at least amenable to a return, should his team Salavaet Ufa experience an early exit from the KHL playoffs. This came to pass on Friday, after they lost in six games to Ak Bars Kazan. While some were hopeful of this result, the prevailing belief was that a desire to play in the World Championships with his native Russia would be too great a priority for Radulov to consider coming back this season. Next season? Well, that’d be great…but now…let’s not get our hopes up, right?
Not so fast, according to Yahoo’s fantastic blogger\Russian correspondent, Dmitri Chesnokov.
The rumor mill has been buzzing, and several sources in Russia have confirmed that not only will Radulov not be back to the KHL next season, but that he’s leaning toward returning to Nashville to make a run at the elusive Stanley Cup. While these rumors are still just that — rumors, there seems to be a good deal of smoke to go along with the fire this time around.
Chesnokov cited the agent of some of Radulov’s teammates, who told him flatly that Radulov was going back to Nashville. While A-Rad and his agent have levied the stoic “no comment” to this point, an official announcement is expected on March 15th. Et tu, Radu?
Logistically, a return this season makes a lot of sense for both sides. From Radulov’s perspective, he burns off the last remaining year of the 3 year ELC he signed in 2006, valued at 980K. He would then qualify for RFA status, and the Predators have no-doubt floated the idea of a lucrative multi-year extension, should both sides be happy with the spring. It’s also not a given that returning to Nashville automatically precludes him from participation in the World Championships. The actual tournament gets underway on May 4th. If the Predators were eliminated before the Western Conference finals, he could still make the team, albeit skipping camp(likely a formality for a player of his magnitude anyway). If they did make it that far, he’s getting pretty close to an NHL championship, and he likely opts for that over a second-tier international competition that he’s already won anyway.
As for Nashville, the pay-off is obvious. They return a guy that scored 26 goals in limited minutes in his sophomore season. A player that is widely considered the best player in the world outside the NHL. They add a true dynamic offensive gamebreaker at virtually no cost.
While some have expressed hesitance at bringing back a deserter, some insight is likely required:
- Radulov was 21 when he left. He was under the influence of two agents– one North American, one Russian. The Russian agent brokered the deal which would not only make Radulov the highest paid player in the KHL, but would make him the marquee, face of the league. An appealing offer to an immature kid. It’s tough to think he hasn’t done some growing up since then.
- The players that were reported to have some issue with Radulov– Dumont, Sullivan, Arnott– are all gone. The new “core” guys, including Suter, Weber and Rinne, have all been quoted as being welcoming to his return. Suter and Weber in particular have never lost touch with Rads.
- I’ve seen so much made of the “he gave Arnott a concussion!!” talk. First off– it was in the heat of a joyful goal celebration–a team pileup. Second– Jason Arnott is a guy I have a hard time feeling sorry for, anyway
At the time of this writing, a bit of breaking news has emerged that should be cause for a little bit more excitement: according to RDS’s Renaud Lavouie, the league asked for and was granted a waiver exemption for Radulov, should he return this season. While Poile has always stated that they believed he wasn’t eligible, this could be seen as last-step t-crossing and i-dotting. Does the league even make such an inquiry if Nashville weren’t trying to justify it? I’m not so sure.
In all, like the rest of you, I’ve had my hopes up and been burned too many times to get as giddy about this as I should be. But for the first time, it truly seems like all good indications point to an imminent return for our beleaguered scoring messiah.
Could we be hearing his Van Halen evocative “Rad-u-lov” theme song in the near future? I certainly hope so.
-JN
Quick question- if he comes back, is he eligible for the playoffs? I’d heard something to the effect that Marty Turco isn’t eligible to play in the playoffs with the Bruins because of the timing of his signing.
Hi there,
As I understand it, Turco’s deal is a little different because it was signed as a new contract. It’s the same rationale that some used for Radulov being waiver-exempt, although with no precedent to judge by, it was tough to say what would have come to pass had the NHL\NHLPA not pre-agreed on it. I doubt there’d be any talk of burning his last ELC year if he couldn’t play in the playoffs.
Gotcha. Thanks! As you said, here’s hoping he comes back.
To confirm James, he is correct. Radulov could play in the playoffs for the Predators
I understand, to a point, why the Predators want to bring Radulov back. I think it’s basically a selling your soul to the devil type thing, but I get why the team would want him back. What I don’t understand is what the league is thinking by letting him come waltzing back in like nothing happened.
In a modern day NHL where players are routinely getting suspended and fined for regular old hits that used to be perfectly acceptable or saying something \offensive\ to the media, I just don’t understand why Radulov is going completely unpunished for what he did. Breaking a binding contract, ignoring a deal you promised to fulfill, to sneak off in the night to go play for a different team and getting away with it free and clear? To me, that is WAY more damaging to the NHL than any accidental hit to the head or Sean Avery cussing at a fan. Yet the league is going to do nothing about it? They’re even helping by making deals with the NHLPA?
Radulov has been known as an immature baby for most of his career. What he did by backstabbing the Predators was one of the most selfish, immature acts I’ve ever seen in sports. The reason he has been such an immature baby is because that’s how he’s been treated his whole life. He can score goals and sell tickets so he’s allowed to act like a brat without ever having to face the music for his actions. He’s matured? The last thing I saw Radulov do was bash his own coach in the face with a hockey stick. This moron hasn’t matured one bit. Because nobody has ever MADE him mature. If I’m Gary Bettman there’s no way I’m letting this punk come back to the league like this. You don’t get to come and go as you please. You can’t pack up your bags and go home when the team is losing and then go oh, the team looks like a Cup contender so I’ll go play a few games so I can finish out this stupid contract. I would suspend him from the league until next season and force him to finish out that last year for real. Sorry, Radulov, but the league doesn’t revolve around you and whatever you feel like doing.
Basically, the NHL is treating this case like a “Federal/State” kind of thing. They never said what Radulov did was acceptable, by any means necessary, but they are letting the team who essentially owns his rights take care of the situation in their own way. Nashville suspended Radulov in the first place for leaving, so Nashville controls what they do when he gets back. The NHL could intervene and do something if they wished, but they’ve made it clear they won’t. They’ve already agreed that he is exempt from waivers as well.
In the end, if he is matured or not, there is one simple question in regards to Radulov: Does he improve the Predators chances to win a Stanley Cup with him on the roster?
In the eyes of Poile, Trotz, and the rest of the organization, the apparent resounding answer is a unanimous yes.
If it was a no and it was a Nikita Filitov-type of situation, he would have been off our suspended roster ages ago.
That whole Nashville suspending Radulov thing was so silly. He’s not here. How do you suspend a guy that’s not here? That’d like McDonalds suspended me from working there even though I don’t.
It’s what’s allowing them to bring him back without having him go through waivers.
He does work for the Predators. He has a binding contract.
The league has no real dog in this race. They have to defer to the Predators– they were the ones that were primarily wronged by Radulov’s leaving. For Bettman to step in and refuse to allow him back in would be to double up on one initial wrong. Effectively– screw the Preds twice.
If Poile\Trotz are okay with Radulov and who he is, and fine with him returning–then he should be free to do so. He didn’t come in and demand we take him back, Poile and Fenton have been in near-constant contact with him since he left.
Radulov is an eccentric guy…maybe the most competitive that has ever played for the Predators. I don’t agree with everything he’s done or how he’s handled things, but I don’t think we’re in a position to turn away a ready-made 30-35 goal scorer because of some things that happened almost 4 years ago. Look at the Capitals and Alex Semin. He pulled a very similar stunt…then came back and scored 40 goals for them. Do you think they’re still bitter that he defected back home for a while? I doubt it.
Like it or not…Radulov’s teammates and the bulk of the fans want him back. Time will tell if it’s a mistake or not, but it’s a little overboard to say that the league should intervene and tell Nashville they can’t have a guy they want back based on their own “principles.”
I don’t like Radulov or what he did. He was one of my favorite Predators, I was at Gillians for the draft party when we drafted him and from that point, he was my boy. What he did to the Predators is in a word inexcusable, however as much as it makes my stomach turn to type these words…Radulov coming back to the Predators will make an already dangerous team into a true Cup contender and if Weber and Suter still are staying in touch with Rads and the team sentiment has changed and time has healed most wounds, it makes perfect sense to bring him back in. Ugh how I hated typing that…on to the Cup.
When a player is suspended the team is ALWAYS screwed. What different does it make what the reason is?
If Weber loses his cool and nails some guy in the head and injures him, Weber will be suspended. That screws the team. It doesn’t matter that the GM, the coach and the fans think losing Weber hurts their Cup chances. The league doesn’t say since Poile and Trotz think what Weber did was fine, we’ll just stay out of it. They do what they think is best for the league not a single team. All that matters is that rules were broken and the player has to be punished. It’s to send a message, not only to that player/team, but to EVERY player that this behavior will not be tolerated. It has nothing to do with anybody’s \principles.\ You break the rules, you get punished.
If Radulov is allowed to do this with ZERO penalty who says he doesn’t try to pull it again? He will have learned nothing from this and 1 or 2 years from now we could wake up to find his locker empty yet again. What’s the message sent to other players? Well, if he can get away with it….
And as a Predators fan, if he comes back I think we ARE being screwed twice. I don’t want to see the last year of that cheap contract wasted on 10ish games, with an apparent knee injury, where his impact on this season’s outcome with be minimal. I want to see what he can do for a full year and see if he’s worth the price and the headache to attempt a long term deal which I don’t think he has proven at all so far.
I don’t really understand where people keep coming up with this 30-35 goal scorer business with him. He never did that while he was here and he hasn’t done it in the KHL against inferior talent. He never even led his own team in goals in the KHL. Josef Vasicek and Brandon Bochenski were better goal scorers in the KHL than Radulov. He’s a good, exciting prospect but people keep putting him on this elite level that he has yet to really show. To me it’s nothing but a lot of wishful thinking at this point.
I don’t see why it is always deemed as immature. A pro athlete’s career doesn’t last forever. Your physical wellbeing is not guaranteed. A hockey player is an employee and if some other option becomes available that will make me set for life, how do I not do that – for my family for myself. He would be a fool if he stayed in the NHL for so little money only to have a career ending injury.
I welcome him back. I am a fan of the team – not players, not supposed loyalties, no ties. Players are, in the end, employees who are part of the machine that is the NHL.
Come back, Radulov! I’ll be the first to buy a brand new Away White jersey with your name on it!
Whats the difference if am a Pro athlete and I am under contract but I want a raise, so what do I do, I hold out for a better contract. Happens in every sport, the only difference is that Radulov had the ability to go to a different league and play. That to me is the only difference. I am not saying I agree or am happy with how it happened but if the Preds and their players or OK with him coming back, so am I.
Hold outs don’t work with guaranteed contracts. The only sport that has holdouts where a contract is already in place is football because those contracts are not guaranteed. The team can drop the player anytime they want without consequence, and the player can hold out for a better contract. Any other sport the player would be required to fulfill his contractual obligations, as would the team. The team couldn’t just decide they don’t want the player or the contract anymore. They have to pay him what they signed him for.