Valeri Nichuskin KHL Signing is Official
After heavy speculation that Dallas Stars restricted free agent Valeri Nichushkin would be heading back to Russia over the last couple of days CSKA Moscow confirmed the signing today. RSport has reported the contract being worth 80 Million Russian Rubles plus bonuses or $1,236,764.80 US.
Valeri Nichuskin officially signed for two years with CSKA #KHL
— Steven McAll (@StevenMcAHockey) September 20, 2016
Nichuskin A Loss For The Stars
Nichuskin 21, was a 10th overall draft pick in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft of the Dallas Stars. In 166 games with the Stars, he scored 23 goals, 41 assists, and 64 points while accumulating 22 penalty minutes. The divide between the Stars and Nichuskin was not simply money but a reported dislike of Lindy Ruff. The Stars will retain the rights to Nichuskin until he is 27 so unless they trade those rights to another team, he can only sign an offer sheet that the Dallas Stars will have the option to match until then.
In the meantime, the Stars will rely more heavily on free agent acquisition Jiri Hudler. Hudler will likely have no problems playing with Mattias Janmark and Jason Spezza for example. It would be even more difficult to imagine Hudler not being able to complement Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin on a power play unit or simply overloading the top line.
Eric Gryba Returns To Edmonton
Eric Gryba who played 53 games last year on the Edmonton Oilers blue-line is set to return to Edmonton on a professional tryout. Gryba 28, has played 218 NHL games scoring 5 goals, 30 assists for 35 points and accumulating 262 Penalty Minutes. Last season Gryba spent the majority of time paired with Brandon Davidson or Griffin Reinhart.
Last season Gryba only played 53 games accumulating a career worst one goal, five assists while accumulating 75 penalty minutes. In addition to the poor performance, Gryba had his season end prematurely in February due to a knee injury. Before joining the Oilers for the 2015-16 season he played all his previous games in the Ottawa Senators organization. He was drafted in the third round (68th overall) of the 2006 NHL Entry Draft by the Senators.
SAN JOSE, CA – MARCH 26: Valeri Nichushkin #43 of the Dallas Stars looks on during the game against the San Jose Sharks at SAP Center on March 26, 2016 in San Jose, California. (Photo by Rocky W. Widner/NHL/Getty Images)
