There was a headline yesterday morning that prominently stated: “Zherdev to the KHL.” It’s kind of funny though: the headline was news to the Russian team that had reportedly signed him. The truth is that there was a little miscommunication and after the dust settled, Nikolai Zherdev is still a free-agent without a home.
None of this is to say that he won’t END UP in Russia, just not now. Frankly, I’d be surprised if he DIDN’T wind up with a team in the KHL—but we’re getting ahead of ourselves.
All of this started a week ago when the New York Rangers said “thanks, but no thanks,” to Zherdev’s $3.9 million salary that he was awarded in arbitration. Under the terms of the Collective Bargaining Agreement, a player can earn the right to have his salary disputed by an independent arbitrator. Each of the sides get to present their case and explain why or why not the player deserves X amount of dollars. After the two sides have it out, the arbitrator then gives the sides a dollar amount in the form of a ruling. The team then has two choices: they can either sign the player for the terms that are laid out in the arbitrator’s ruling or they can walk away from the player making him a free agent.
Does anyone have any clue where the hell he's going to play next year?
After the Rangers heard the arbitrator’s ruling for Zherdev, they chose Door #2 and decided they were better off without the 24 year old Ukrainian. The good news for Zherdev is that it makes him a free agent—allowing him to play with any team he wants for any salary he can negotiate. The bad news is that most teams have already made their big expenditures and are firmly pressed up against the salary cap. Even if teams have the necessary money to spend, not everyone is convinced he is a dependable player that is committed to playing on both ends of the ice. Which brings us to this point: Is there anyone that can afford him that actually wants him?
The former #4 overall pick has been an enigma since he broke in with the Columbus Blue Jackets a few years ago. From the start, he’s shown flashes of brilliance with his world class wrist shot and his ability to dangle with the best players in the world. At 6’2” and skill coming out of his ears, he has the type of physical tools that make scouts drool.
Unfortunately, he has the work ethic that makes coaches pull their hair out. In his time with the Blue Jackets, Ken Hitchcock made it known on more than one occasion that he wasn’t happy with Zherdev’s effort or work ethic. There were people that thought a change of scenery would do him some good—so he was given a 2nd chance with the New York Rangers. He was able to be among the team leaders in both goals (23) and points (58); yet there were still concerns about his overall play. When the $3.9 million dollar ruling came down, the Rangers were only too quick to walk away. You don’t pay that kind of money to a young player if you have serious concerns about his work ethic. That’s just asking for trouble.
So where does he go from here? Even though this report came out prematurely and was later shot down—he’s still only been an unrestricted free agent for a week. There’s no doubt that he’s going to be playing hockey somewhere this fall. He’s too young, too skilled and could help too many teams to not get picked up. So the unemployment line is not even a concern.
The only questions are: which continent and for how much? The main question that is going to be answered in the news in a few days (or weeks) is going to be whether he really wants to play in the NHL or not. If Jiri Hudler was able to score a 2 year contract worth $5 million per year, you have to think that Zherdev could sign a comparable contract. When you figure in the fact that the KHL contract would be tax-free, then you see that it would be equivalent to over $7.5 million per season. If it’s about money, he’ll be in Siberia faster than you can say “Cyrillic-to-English Decoder Ring.” Ok, you can’t really say that so fast, but you know what I mean.
But wait, there’s more to the story. When Slavat Yulaev’s assistant coach Igor Zakharkin debunked TSN’s report, he went a step further and explained WHY there’s more to signing Zherdev than just his talent and expected salary.
“…because we still have two vacancies for foreigners. However, that doesn’t at all mean that we’ll rush out right now to fill them. So consider that the roster is already set.”
Each team in the KHL can only have 5 total foreign players signed at one time; and can only play 4 foreign players in each game. Zakharkin hit on the point that the Ukrainian Zherdev would be considered a foreign player under the KHL rules.
I’m curious to see how much he’ll be offered if he returns to the NHL. If an arbitrator ruled that he was worth $3.9 million for a season, then it’s going to be pretty close. Would you sign him for $3.5 million to help add some scoring punch to your team?
Zherdev has some faults in his game; but I’d be more than happy to see if he could work them out over a 1 year contract. What’s the downside for a team like the Predators who have the cap space and need the scoring? THIS is what you’d be getting, with a no-risk money back, 1 year guarantee:
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