Excellent signing, the kid has a great attitude and work ethic on the ice. He's not a liability defensively and engages physically, just seems to have lost his scoring touch at all at the NHL level. If he's able to start chipping in a little more offensively he'll be a great bottom 6 guy.
Obviously hasn’t been what you’d hope out of a 10OA pick, but he’s been pretty solid defensively and physically since being called up this year. Hoping for a Hoglander like breakout next year, or at least some offense, but at worst is a solid defensive bottom 6 guy
Who is voting no? He's still an RFA at the end of this contract and it is a 100% buriable contract. He's solid defensively and got better in that regard as the season went along. He's snake bit when it comes to scoring, but if he can to bounce back to his rookie season then this contract will be worth it.
Obviously hasn’t been what you’d hope out of a 10OA pick, but he’s been pretty solid defensively and physically since being called up this year. Hoping for a Hoglander like breakout next year, or at least some offense, but at worst is a solid defensive bottom 6 guy
This is my thought as well.
Worst case: He's overpaid by $225,000 for a shutdown 4th liner.
Most likely case: He's back to scoring 10+ goals and is a physical presence on the 3rd line earning well more than his paycheck.
Best case: Hoglander like breakout.
Who is voting no? He's still an RFA at the end of this contract and it is a 100% buriable contract. He's solid defensively and got better in that regard as the season went along. He's snake bit when it comes to scoring, but if he can to bounce back to his rookie season then this contract will be worth it.
KHL salaries are not as high as you think, the best KHL players make pennies compared to the best NHL players
a quick google says top salaries in KHL are in the 1.5-2mil range. I dont know if its the draw some people think it is, its not the days of early KHL where oligarchs were throwing ridiculous sums of money at actual NHL stars.
Now I dont know how much of a draw playing in the motherland is, but if minimum NHL salaries are likely higher than avg in KHL so it probably makes more sense to try your luck in the NHL
KHL salaries are not as high as you think, the best KHL players make pennies compared to the best NHL players
Perhaps, but Podkolzin isn't one of the best NHL players. I suppose the Canucks could have let him to go the KHL for a year or two and kept him on their reserve list so they could bring him back, but signing him so they can have more control over his development is probably a better option for both the team and the player.
KHL salaries are not as high as you think, the best KHL players make pennies compared to the best NHL players
I knew a player a decade ago making close to $4M but he was also one of the top paid players in the KHL. However, to keep kids from going to the NHL, it is not unheard of $1M to $2M and there are huge tax breaks for Russian athletes playing in Russia