Nabokov Going Home To Russia

Evgeni Nabokov has called San Jose his NHL home for all 10 years of his career in the league. But once the Sharks cut him loose after another failed push toward the Stanley Cup, the 34-year old decided to really go home. It was announced on Wednesday that Nabokov is moving to the SKA Saint Petersburg of the Kontinental Hockey League on a whopping four-year, $24 million contract.

The average salary in that deal is $6 million, which is what Nabokov was believed to be seeking in a new deal with an NHL club. Unlikely to find that kind of cash, it made sense for him from a financial standpoint to take the pact in his home country. Unfortunately, at just 34 years old and with plenty of gas left in the tank, it's a shame to see him give up the opportunity to play for a Stanley Cup. When his contract expires with SKA Saint Petersburg, Nabokov will be 38 years old and probably off most teams' radar as a No. 1 netminder in the NHL.

But once the Sharks kicked him to the curb and chose to go with some other in-house options to join up with new addition Antero Niittymaki, Nabokov earned ever right to go to whichever team he desires. Even if that team is not in the NHL.

Nabokov has plenty of support from his family, according to Pierre LeBrun of ESPN. He will be more wealthy as a result of this move, since no team in the NHL was going to grant him a $6 million per year set of paychecks. And he has the opportunity to join up with fellow-NHLers like Alexei Yashin, Sergei Brylin, Peter Cajanek, Darius Kasparaitis, Andrei Zyuzin and Sergei Zubov (Interestingly enough, fellow former-NHLer Robert Esche sported the crease for SKA Saint Petersburg the last two years.) Plus, as LeBrun so aptly points out, this deal in the KHL conveniently expires around the time of the 2014 Olympics in Socchi.

So, while it would have been nice to see him return with an NHL club next year, the grass was obviously greener for Nabokov in Russia.

Flyers Bringing Back Leighton For Two More Years

They explored the possibility of bringing in Evgeni Nabokov and they made a failed play for Marty Turco. But at the end of the day, the Philadelphia Flyers chose to stick with the man they already had. General Manager Paul Holgren got Michael Leighton's signature on the dotted line of a new two-year, $3.1 million contract that will see the 29-year old netminder remain the club's No. 1 option between the pipes. He will earn $1.5 million next year and $1.6 million in 2011-12, with an annual cap hit of $1.55 million.

Generally a journeyman goalie before hitting Philly, Leighton emerged as a playoff hero for the Flyers as he backstopped them to their first Stanley Cup Final appearance since 1998. Being pulled twice in against the Chicago Blackhawks during that series placed some doubt on the organization about whether it was wise to bring him back as its starter. But after looking into Nabokov, who is determined to test the free agent market, and having a three-year, $6 million offer turned away by Turco, the Flyers stuck with the immediate option.

Leighton is undoubtedly a cheaper option, which was key for the Flyers since they didn't want to shed too much payroll on a netminder. But there is still some speculation that the Flyers might not be done looking for options between the pipes, even with two other goalies already signed - Brian Boucher and Johan Backlund. TSN's Bob McKeznie believes Martin Biron could find his way back into Philadelphia, or that the Flyers could take a shot at dealing for Tim Thomas from Boston if they're willing to part with a high-priced talent on their own roster. That would mean Leighton would either become a backup option for the Flyers, or be part of a package going elsewhere in a trade.

Philly Seeking Nabokov's Rights, Chicago Gets Ladd's Qualifying Offer In On Time

 

~ The Philadelphia Flyers do not currently have a No. 1 goaltender and weren't able to draft one over the weekend (not that anybody they would have selected on Friday or Saturday would have filled the spot right away, anyway.) However, after the draft was completed, General Manager Paul Holmgren reportedly struck a tentative deal with San Jose Sharks GM Doug Wilson for the negotiation rights to goaltender Evgeni Nabokov. The deal hinges on the Flyers' ability to reach an agreement with Nabokov before free agency on July 1. If that is done, then Philly will fork over a seventh round draft pick to San Jose in 2011.

The likelihood of this trade actually going through are slim, however. TSN has reported that Nabokov informed the Flyers that he would like to test the market. And according to CSNPhilly, Wilson even mentioned that complications do exist for the Flyers to actually complete a deal with Nabokov, which the site speculated could include the 35-year old's entire career having been spent on the West Coast. But neither genral manager involved here elaborated on the issue all that much.

The Flyers are familiar with the process of trading for negotiation rights and sometimes it works out for them, i.e., Kimmo Timonen and Scott Hartnell. But other times it does not, such as what just went down with Dan Hamhuis. And while the team does stand a strong chance at getting Nabokov, the fact that he only needs to wait four days to find out his value over the entire market (and maybe even the KHL) doesn't make it look good on the Flyers' end to get this thing done before noon on Thursday.

~ Former Chicago Blackhawks and current Florida Panthers general manager Dale Tallon is not so great with tendering qualifying offers in time to restricted free agents. Stan Bowman isn't so bad, though. On Sunday, he beat the Monday deadline for Andrew Ladd's qualifying offer at a price of $1.65 million.

Ladd will likely want more in a new contract that than and he should have no problem doing so if he chooses to seek salary arbitration. The 24-year old former Carolina Hurricanes first round pick scored a career-high 17 goals last season and added 21 assists for 38 points. He added three goals and three assists in 19 playoff games en route to a Stanley Cup Championship with Chicago.

News From Around The Crease

~ He has flirted with the idea of retirement many times over the past few years. But the temptation to play always seemed to win out. Now, it seems the time is finally right for Scott Niedermayer to hang up the skates for good. After 18 years in the NHL and numerous appearances on the international level, the 36-year old future Hall of Famer announced his retirement on Tuesday.

Niedermayer’s career has been on a year-by-year basis ever since he led the Anaheim Ducks to a Stanley Cup Championship in 2007. He was not able to lead Anaheim to the promised land again, but still put up three more productive seasons that included a 59-point campaign (the third-highest total of his career) in 2008-09 and an another Gold Medal winning appearance for Team Canada during this past winter’s Olympics.

His legacy will be as one of the game’s best offensive defenseman. Even on a defensive-minded New Jersey Devils squad, Niedermayer was able to exhibit his incredible offensive instincts from the blue line. He was a great skater, ran power plays extremely well, led by example and was a character guy – as shown during his free agency period in 2005 when he chose to leave the team he was drafted by and played for over 13 years to help his brother win a Cup in Anaheim.

At the NHL level, Niedermayer has attained a plethora of accomplishments. On top of four Stanley Cups between his time with the New Jersey Devils and Ducks, he has also taken claim to the Conn Smythe Trophy, a Norris Memorial Award and five All-Star Game appearances. For Team Canada, Niedermayer sports two Olympic Gold Medals, an IIHF World Championships Gold Medal and a first place finish in the 2004 World Cup of Hockey. Even in juniors, Niedermayer was a stud – winning the Memorial Cup as a member of the Kamloops Blazers and making two Western Hockey League First All-Star Teams.

At 36 years old and coming off season where he notched 48 points, it’s safe to say Niedermayer still had something left in the tank and could have easily stepped right back into the Ducks’, or any other team’s, lineup. But after missing the playoffs this past spring – only the second time in his career not playing in the postseason, Niedermayer felt it was finally time to move on.

Niedermayer will remain with the Ducks as a consultant to general manager Bob Murray.