After a disappointing season for the Vancouver Canucks, Thursday it got a little worse as both Nikita Tryamkin and Philip Larsen have signed contracts in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL).
Defenseman Nikita Tryamkin returns to @IHCAvtomobilist after one full season with @Canucks in NHL. pic.twitter.com/3kJRLpvc0i
— KHL (@khl_eng) April 20, 2017
Tryamkin and Larsen leave the Vancouver Canucks for the KHL
The younger Tryankin, will return to his old club Yekaterinburg Automobilist, the team he played for from 2012-2013 until 2016 when he made the jump to the Vancouver Canucks. The Canucks third round pick in 2014 has suited up for a total on 79 career games recording a mere 11 points.
In an interview with The Province via Google translation Tryamkin said he was displeased with his ice time, “Getting decent playing time. But not for 12 minutes in the the game to come out. This I do not want,” he said, “I have experienced theses feelings. When you do, I would not get pleasure from the game and (instead) just sit, look and realize that there’s nothing you can do”
In 66 games this season, the 6’7″ hulking defensemen played mostly bottom pairing minutes. Also, since mid November he has only averaged just under 17 minutes of action, the lowest of the Canucks regular defensive unit. In fact, his minutes actually picked up after Erik Gudbranson was hurt.
In last weeks end of the season press conference, Canucks president Trevor Linden and general manager Jim Benning said that Tryamkin would be part of the young core moving forward. With that being said, this news must be startling to the upper management as he was clearly part of their plans.
Philip Larsen has signed a two-year contract with Salavat Yulaev. Last off season, the Canucks signed the 27-year-old defensemen to a one year, $1.025 million contract after spending the last two season in the KHL. This season with the Canucks was not a successful one for Larsen as he only played 26 games, recording a total of just six points.
Moving forward, the Vancouver Canucks will start preparing for the Draft Lottery and will have to figure out their plan for the upcoming expansion draft.
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