Vishnevsky -Dallas

[Briarpatch00]

Will this guy get a crack this year? I fear that if he doesn\'t, KHL could be his future and thus time for me to dump him from the farm team.

[playmaker26]

I don\'t see any way he makes the team this year. Niskanen emerged last year and they don\'t need an offensive minded defenseman being their #6 guy or a healthy scratch. Zubov, Boucher, Niskanen would all be ahead of him on their PP. It wouldn\'t make sense to have him up.

[Briarpatch00]

Those are my thoughts exactly and I don\'t think I am willing to wait around on him anymore with the KHL looming over most russians\' heads. I will need the cap space to replace Jagr

[playmaker26]

Trade him. He\'s a good defenseman prospect and I\'m sure you could package him with someone on your roster for an upgrade.

[lockedge]

He needs another non-NHL year under his belt. Two is more likely. I\'m not worried about him being lured over. He has 2 years left on his contract and with the KHL-NHL agreement, he\'s not going over.

Don\'t assume every Russian is planning to jump over to the KHL once their contracts are over. You dump him and you\'re going to regret it in 2 or 3 years.

[PrairieFire]

On the other side of the coin...a week ago I warned people not to take the KHL lightly...and they laughed...now there are a few good players that have made the jump...and some very unhappy Rads and Jagr owners...

If this league takes off...look out for every Russian, Czech, Belarus, Slovakian player...that isn\'t an absolute all-star (Ovechkin, Malkin) to at the very least...consider making the jump...for lots of reasons...

Tax free cash...half the games...virtually no travel (relatively speaking)...nowhere near the pressure...

That\'s a lot of guys on Fantasy teams...
Meszaros, Sekera, Visnevsky, the Kostityns, Filatov...etc...to name just a few.

My advice...if you have these guys...or guys like them on your team...as soon as they start performing good...and making a run...trade them...and draft North American...

I honestly believe that with the exception of the Swedes and Finns...the trade value of all other European Players...other than the obvious guys...has diminished significantly...in Keeper Leagues...as losing good players for absolutely nothing...is a Keeper League owners nightmare...

I think you\'ll only want guys that are locked up to 4-5 year deals...

One last thing...if you don\'t think it\'s that drastic...imagine if you had 3 good keeps jump all at once...

[Dakkster]

PrairieFire wrote:

On the other side of the coin...a week ago I warned people not to take the KHL lightly...and they laughed...now there are a few good players that have made the jump...and some very unhappy Rads and Jagr owners...

If this league takes off...look out for every Russian, Czech, Belarus, Slovakian player...that isn\'t an absolute all-star (Ovechkin, Malkin) to at the very least...consider making the jump...for lots of reasons...

Tax free cash...half the games...virtually no travel (relatively speaking)...nowhere near the pressure...

That\'s a lot of guys on Fantasy teams...
Meszaros, Sekera, Visnevsky, the Kostityns, Filatov...etc...to name just a few.

My advice...if you have these guys...or guys like them on your team...as soon as they start performing good...and making a run...trade them...and draft North American...

I honestly believe that with the exception of the Swedes and Finns...the trade value of all other European Players...other than the obvious guys...has diminished significantly...in Keeper Leagues...as losing good players for absolutely nothing...is a Keeper League owners nightmare...

I think you\'ll only want guys that are locked up to 4-5 year deals...

One last thing...if you don\'t think it\'s that drastic...imagine if you had 3 good keeps jump all at once...

I think you\'re being overdramatic. Filatov, for example, has expressed time and time again that his only desire is to play in North America, because that\'s where the majority of the best players in the world are (and will be) playing.

And virtually no travel? Have you taken a look at a map of the old Soviet Republic lately? It\'s huge and there are plenty of long distances between the teams.

It\'s not that hard to identify the risk players, so I will probably stay away from some of them in the future, but I will not swear off every Eastern European player out there.

And let\'s get something straight. These hockey players know that they will make significant cash in both leagues. The NHL has boatloads more prestige. Plus a lot of players actually relish the added pressure of playing in the best league in the world.

[Reprimand]

I\'d like to hear more about their living conditions, arena conditions, and daily life before i consider this to be as big as Praire Fire mantions. The money may be good but I\'ve heard stories from ex-NHLers who wouldn\'t play over there due to the conditions, their families wellbeing and lack of cheeseburgers.

[PrairieFire]

Well...the choice of course is yours to make...as I dont really care whether you lose players or not...

All I\'m saying is that a week ago you would never dreamed that an acomplished a prospect as Rads would be gone from someone in your league...for nothing...Jagr as well...so that\'s two guys that got burned...

Next year and the year after...if this league makes a go of it...who knows how many will go...if their buddies come calling...

No they won\'t all go...but the more that go...the more prestige it brings to the KHL...as it will have a snowball affect...

Draft who youwant...but I already here that Cheapanov has decided to stay and play in Russia...

One last thing...Rads praised North America and the Q when he got here too...

[Dakkster]

PrairieFire: You need to read this post by fzusher. He\'s stayed on top of the Radulov thing from the start and has translated most of the Russian stuff for us here on Dobberhockey. Check this out:

He was asked in mid June by a Russian paper about his NHL future and stated that while he definitely wants to return to Russia some day for now he wants to stay in North America and win the Stanley Cup, and he also said he really liked rabid fans like the ones he met in Quebec during the WC. In an interview after the contract signing (some 2-2.5 weeks later) he was quite careful in what he said, but he did single out the facts that Salavat is a team that goes after titles and has a big and fervent following as two factors that attracted him to that team. He didn\'t say Nashville lacked in those two things but you don\'t need to be a mind reader to figure that out - the Preds don\'t exactly attract large fervent crowds, and they didn\'t go after any major free agents in July a bid to win now - on the contrary, they cut salary by shipping Zidlicky for a prospect.

As for the Cherepanov thing, I\'d like a source for that before I believe it. Otherwise it\'s nothing more than a rumor.

And Jagr has been talking or been talked about playing in Russia for years. I was certainly not surprised when he signed there.

You\'re right, some players will go play there, but the vast majority of them will play in the NHL. It\'s all risk management, really. I\'ve been thinking about taking Kirill Petrov in my league\'s entry draft. But if I do take him, I will do so with a late pick. No real harm done if he fizzles then.

[PrairieFire]

Oh yee of little faith...

Rangers fans who think they’ll be seeing Alexei Cherepanov in Broadway Blue this coming season will have to think again, it seems.
According to Cherepanov’s Russian agent, Sergei Paremuzov, the Rangers’ No. 1 draft choice in 2007 will be staying with Avangard Omsk this year, his second with the high-ranking Siberian club. And although Paremuzov says that Cherepanov wants to play in the NHL, he also says that the 19-year-old will benefit from another year with the Hawks, where he will learn from the newly signed ex-Ranger Jaromir Jagr.
Paremuzov made the remarks in today’s issue of the Russian daily Sovietskiy Sport. Here is a translation of some of that article:
Head of the Association of Hockey Agents of Russia Sergei Paremuzov, representing the interests of the Avangard Omsk attacker Alexei Cherepanov, said that the forward will stay in Russia for at least another season:
“We have long discussed this issue. Of course, Cherepanov very much wants to try himself in the NHL, but for the moment the player himself understands that he should develop game smarts and physical conditioning. This season Alexei will stay in Omsk. I note that for Cherepanov, the fact that Jaromir Jagr will be his Avangard teammate will be of great help. Perhaps they will play on the same line.”

[Dakkster]

Oh, that article. That was already a foregone conclusion (at least to me) since before last season, simply because his contract extends through the 08/09 season and Cherry said last summer that he would honor the whole contract and then go to New York.