With exodus of players leaving the KHL for the sunny NHL shores, there are some prospects abandoned by their former teams that have drafted them and the AHL wasn’t an option. Sadly this means they are then stuck by rights. Some teams still have these rights to the players, an epidemic as prevalent in the KHL as the NHL. These rights, are often traded and moved as extra assets. However, being the wrong type of player and locked with rights on the wrong team can get you stuck in funny positions.
This is what happened to Anders Nilsson. Unlike Alexander Salak who was released from the contract and became rights free, Anders Nilsson’s rights are still with the Chicago Blackhawks, after being traded from New York Islanders. This means that, until it runs out, he can only be signed by the Blackhawks in the NHL; a team with endless amounts of goaltenders with the emergence of Scott Darling, Antti Raanta, Corey Crawford’s giant contract and the Icehogs well-guarded. This eventually means that it’s going to be hard for Nilsson to get a look in at the NHL this offseason, let alone even get a look in to match his contract potential with Ak Bars Kazan or even match the starting role.
Nilsson with Ak Bars managed to get an upgrade on his 900k contract from the Islanders and made just over a million with Ak Bars with a firm starting role and a strong season with Ak Bars, topping the Eastern Conference and making it to the Gagarin final. A heavy duty raise is due for the tall Swede who has his own cult following, celebrity with the fans and constantly being held as one of the best goaltenders in the KHL. However the relationship between Ak Bars and Nilsson are not smooth sailing. Anders Nilsson has reportedly turned down an offer from Ak Bars, one that is apparently a pay cut from Ak Bars manager; a bizarre move for who is arguably one of the best goaltenders in the KHL, and who was a good part why Ak Bars even made it to the Gagarin final. Not that this is a view shared by everyone, with the head coach, Zinetula Bilyaletdinov throwing the goaltender under the blame train, despite Anders Nilsson setting the record for most playoff shutouts and just missing out on the record for consecutive shutouts. After all, it’s not a wide secret that Bilyaletdinov’s defense and possession-oriented style of coaching isn’t best at producing the strongest offense, leaving Ak Bars in a strange place. Make amends and meet Nilsson’s demands or let him walk and leave it to his backup. Nilsson’s backup, Emil Garipov, also received a raise and as a young prospect, has not stolen Nilsson’s position but hasn’t quite been about enough to truly be seen as a full replacement by any means.
But the cards are not in all in Nilsson’s hands. He’s stuck in the KHL if he wants to take a contract like the others, maybe wait and risk the NHL and hope he doesn’t end up in the AHL. But with the goalie market as filled as it is already, that’s going to be very hard to break into, not helped with many teams overflowing with goaltenders like the Ottawa Senators or Winnipeg jets. He could go to the SHL but take even a bigger pay cut. A bigger club could maybe stretch up to 0.65m and even that is daylight robbery for the SHL. Either way, a pay cut will happen, possibly vastly more than what Ak Bars is offering. He maybe could wait for another KHL club to pick him up, with Barulin possibly on the leave and Dinamo Riga fresh out of a starting goaltender, there might be a gap to maybe match his contract. But even then, the bigger teams such as SKA or CSKA both have their goaltenders locked down with Mikko Koshiknen getting a due raise with the teams. The KHL door is thin and he could maybe hope to fit in but even then finding a raise will be very hard.
Anders Nilsson’s story is a wonderful tale of missing the NHL and climbing to the top of his game elsewhere. By reaching the Gagarin final, topping the conference and setting records, he has pushed his name into the limelight but the fairy-tale doesn’t have a happy ever after. With his wife giving birth in June, deciding where to stay, and for what money becomes increasingly important. Stuck between leagues and trapped by rights and money, Nilsson is stuck on the wrong side of the leavers of the KHL. Caught between rights and leagues with what seems to be both sides not backing down, it will be interesting to see where the KHL’s star talent and a star story of those who missed the NHL end up.
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