Panarin's trade, Svechnikov's debut and Ovechkin's championship spirit: what to expect from Russian hockey players in the new NHL season. Hockey stars. The most famous hockey players Russian hockey players who played in the NHL

The main favorite for the 2018/19 season in the NHL, according to bookmakers, are the Lightning hockey players. There is nothing surprising in this: unexpectedly for everyone, Steve Yzerman, who left the post of general manager of the club a month before the start of the regular season, did a tremendous job, gathering in Florida a team consisting of young talents and already formed stars of the first magnitude.

The highest level of individual skill of the leaders - forwards Steven Stamkos and Nikita Kucherov, defensemen Victor Hedman and Ryan McDonagh and goaltender Andrei Vasilevsky, multiplied by the decent depth of the roster, gives Tampa Bay fans every reason to expect to win the second Stanley Cup in the history of the organization.

The Lightning were good last season when they won record number victories in the regular season (54 in 82 matches), and should add more. Russian defender Mikhail Sergachev, who was fired from Montreal after the trade, and Canadian forward Brayden Point, who scored 32 goals, for example, are still working out their standard rookie contracts and have not yet had time to unleash their full potential.

Yes, in the person of the Toronto Maple Leafs, who signed the most high-status free agent of the 2018 off-season, John Tavares, John Cooper’s charges probably have an even more serious competitor than last year’s Washington. But unless something supernatural happens like an injury to captain Stamkos, who has a voluminous medical record, Kucherov and company should, like last year, again become first in the Eastern Conference and receive home-court advantage until the later stages of the playoffs.

However, despite the fact that most of the key players in the Tampa Bay club are still quite young and just entering the peak of their careers, the team’s so-called championship window will not be open forever. The fact is that now it has enough hockey players whose fees are significantly lower than their real market value.

In addition to Sergachev and Point, these include Vasilevsky, who earns $3.5 million per year, modest by the standards of a Vezina Trophy contender, and who finished the last regular season with the team’s best utility score of “+36,” as well as forward Yanni Gourde with his purely symbolic salary of $1 million.

Consequently, soon those who continue Yzerman’s work will have to make painful decisions about parting with one of the truly important or even system-forming players.

It is impossible to deceive the hard salary cap, under which there will not be enough space for all current Lightning hockey players in the 2019/20 championship. Therefore, it is better for the team from Florida to hurry up in bringing their title ambitions to life, so as not to go down in the history of one of the strongest organizations, which for several years in a row was very close to the coveted trophy, but never managed to get it.

“Washington”: how long will the “championship hangover” of Ovechkin and Kuznetsov last?

The hackneyed expression that defending any title is much more difficult than winning it was not born out of nowhere - and the Capitals have every chance to confirm the time-tested thesis in the upcoming season. The team celebrated wildly historical success throughout the summer, will begin a new regular season with minimal changes in the lineup and at a certain stage will definitely experience problems with motivation.

The Metropolitan Division, in which Washington plays, cannot be called the most competitive in the league (both teams from New York and Carolina are at different stages of restructuring and big problems the leaders will most likely not get it), and therefore a ticket to the playoffs will not go anywhere from the “Great Eight”. But a decline in the debut or during the regular season is still inevitable, and the prerequisites for it are much more significant than the notorious “champion hangover.”

Firstly, the Capitals enter the season with a new coach: for the first time in a quarter century, the reigning Stanley Cup winner has made a castling on the coaching bridge, replacing Barry Trotz, who left for the Islanders, with his former assistant Todd Reirden. The 47-year-old specialist has been working at the headquarters of the capital’s team since 2014, but he will still need some time to get used to the role of the main man on the bench.

Secondly, power forward Tom Wilson, one of the shadow heroes of the last playoffs, faces a long disqualification for rough power move in a preseason match with the St. Louis Blues - and the striking trio formed during the last championship with him, Alexander Ovechkin and Evgeny Kuznetsov in the lineup, at least at first, will be destroyed.

Therefore, treat Washington’s local failures (and there will certainly be some!) Russian fans the team as a whole follows more than with restraint. Especially after the opening 7-0 win over the Boston Bruins. The same Pittsburgh Penguins last fall allowed themselves to lose individual matches with a terrible score of 1:10, which did not prevent them from approaching the knockout matches in good shape. The Capitals will meet next spring fully armed, and what kind of hockey they will show from October to early December is a matter of opinion.

“Los Angeles”: Kovalchuk returned seriously and for a long time?

Perhaps the main intrigue of the NHL regular season associated with Russian hockey players is the level of play of Ilya Kovalchuk. After all, the striker, at the very respectable age of 35 for an athlete, returned overseas for a reason, but for the only award separating him from entering the Triple Gold Club, and from the very beginning he did not hide the seriousness of his intentions to compete for the Stanley Cup.

Therefore, the requirements for him will be appropriate: the Kings, who have not even reached the second round of the playoffs since 2014, believe that such an experienced and high-quality sniper will begin to produce results from the very first official match. And they won’t forgive him for any slipping at the start.

There is not the slightest doubt - in the off-season, Kovalchuk did everything in his power to return to the strongest league on the planet in optimal condition. Otherwise, he simply would not have left SKA, which includes a forward, and annually qualify for the Gagarin Cup. But Ilya went to America solely to satisfy his own ambitions and with an actual reduction in salary (after deducting all taxes in Los Angeles, he will earn less than in St. Petersburg). Therefore, the Olympic champion Pyeongchang should not have any problems with dedication or motivation.

Another thing is that Kovalchuk will actually have to get used to the NHL calendar, which is full of matches and flights, which has not become significantly more favorable to the players in the five years the striker spent in Russia. For this reason, overseas experts agree that Los Angeles took a decent risk by concluding a contract with Ilya for three years at once. But if the Kings' bet ends up working, the team could really make a breakthrough. After all, one of the main problems of John Stevens’ team last season was the mediocre execution of the majority, and the Russian with an excellent shot can definitely solve it.

“Carolina”: who is Svechnikov and how good is he?

There are enough Russian performers in the NHL who simply must take a step forward in the 2018/19 season. This is Vladimir Tarasenko, who already has star status, thanks to whom St. Louis is expected to return to the playoffs. And Valery Nichushkin, still considered promising, is making his second attempt to gain a foothold in the Dallas Stars. And Bogdan Kiselevich, who spent too much time in Russia, signed a contract with the Florida Panthers in the summer (but, unfortunately, had already suffered an unpleasant injury during pre-season training). Most attention, however, will be focused on the person of Andrei Svechnikov, a forward selected by the Hurricanes with the second overall pick in the latest draft, which suggests that the 18-year-old hockey player has true star potential.

In the first season professional career a native of Barnaul, who has been competing overseas since 2016 (and therefore, just six months ago, was practically unknown to fans who are not interested in junior tournaments), is capable of making a loud statement about himself and joining the battle for the Calder Trophy - the prize for the best newcomer of the regular season. Svechnikov, whose older brother, Evgeniy, also plays in North America for the Detroit Red Wings, is actually very talented and is also physically ready for the NHL, which is quite a rare occurrence at his age.

Experts in the junior leagues of the USA and Canada call Andrei’s strongest quality the forward’s versatility, which makes him very difficult to neutralize even now. Carolina's Russian recruit is both a strong sniper and a smart playmaker; he can benefit the team both in converting power plays and in killing penalty time. In his person, the club, which had not played in the playoffs since 2009, received a real diamond, which should certainly shine in the hands of a competent coach.

Finally, the Hurricanes represent an excellent development platform - they are a young, growing organization where Svechnikov will likely be trusted from day one, without forcing him to go through the farm system and sink his teeth into a fourth-line spot.

Columbus: what will happen to Panarin and Bobrovsky?

The contract saga of Artemi Panarin, who scored 82 points in 81 NHL regular season games last season, appears to have come to an end. The striker is awaiting the opening of training camp and does not intend to break his earlier promise not to negotiate with the club's general manager Jarmo Kekalainen during the season. Considering that next summer one of the leaders and top scorer of Columbus becomes an unrestricted free agent, his exchange is becoming more and more likely every day. Some insiders even claim that it will take place before 2019.

With his unwillingness to sign an eight-year agreement with the current club (and allegedly desire to move to a metropolis like New York, which overseas media have written about more than once), Panarin puts the Columbus management in an extremely difficult position. Kekalainen, like any other normal functionary, does not seek to part with his main asset of his own free will, but he will still have to do this in order to prevent the forward from leaving for another team without any compensation.

The situation is aggravated by the fact that Artemy’s value on the exchange market is falling every day. In nine months, under favorable circumstances, he can be acquired for free, but now the Blue Jackets will require significant compensation to stay afloat after parting with the striker.

Widely covered throughout the summer of 2018 in both domestic and international foreign press The rift between Columbus and Panarin was overshadowed by the fact that the club’s relationship with another eminent Russian, two-time Vezina Trophy winner Sergei Bobrovsky, is developing in a similar way. His contract also expires at the end of the season, and so far the goalkeeper has not expressed any particular desire to sign a new one.

Kekalainen, according to rumors, hopes to convince his ward, and the relatively free payroll of the Blue Jackets, which can easily accommodate the eight-figure salary desired by one of the strongest goalkeepers on the planet, should help him with this. But a scenario in which both Russian stars of the team from Ohio will finish the regular season in different jerseys is quite likely. And neither the Finnish manager nor the team's head coach John Tortorella is happy about this, to put it mildly.

2014 may go down in history as the year a star rose Andrey Vasilevsky. We learned much earlier that a talented goalkeeper lives and plays in the capital of Bashkiria. However, it was last year that Vasilevsky rose a notch higher, ceasing to be just a young and promising player. It is symbolic that at the beginning of the year he took away the last award from Malmö youth hockey, as if turning over this page. Vasilevsky finally moved to adult hockey with its amplitude of ups and downs. For the way Andrei played in the Gagarin Cup and at the debut World Championship, without any stretch of the imagination he can be given an “excellent” rating.

Vasilevsky put not a full stop at the World Championships, but a beautiful comma. In order not to spoil the impression of the year, he needed to pass the AHL test. Up until December it seemed that young Russian goalkeeper drowned in the minor overseas league. What kind of top ten can we talk about if Vasilevsky loses the competition even in the Tampa Bay farm club? However, it took the Ufa prodigy only a month to break into our rankings. After playing in front of 30,000 spectators and becoming the AHL player of the week, he received a call to Tampa, where he showed himself in all his glory. . Bye Nabokov sitting behind him Varlamov heals injury Khudobin the season fails, and Bobrovsky Just starting to regain his previous condition, Vasilevsky ends the year in the status of the strongest Russian goalkeeper.

Russian hockey players have long shown their skills far beyond the borders of their homeland, and foreign fans admire the play of the most talented athletes. Each of them once wanted to play in the NHL, where today more and more Russian stars.

First NHL game

Back in the days of the USSR, when it was not so easy to get abroad, hockey players still strived to North America, where there was a completely different level of play and wages. Playing in the NHL is a dream for all hockey players, and anyone who denies this is undoubtedly lying. Many players entered another country illegally, and after the collapse Soviet Union and they tried to leave Russia even faster. Some of them did not take root in the new place, others remained in foreign teams, but never fully revealed their talents. Yet many of them revealed the skills of Russian athletes to the whole world and became real hockey legends.

Russians first appeared in the NHL in 1983, when Viktor Nechaev was released onto the ice with the NHL team Los Angeles for three games. Official permission to participate in the NHL was first given to Sergei Pryakhin, who took to the ice as part of the Vancouver Canucks. Before leaving the country, the hockey player played for Krylia Sovetov.

Some of the most famous Soviet athletes who left to conquer North America were Vyacheslav Fetisov, Igor Larionov, and Vladimir Krutov. They left their homeland, having quarreled over leaving with their coach Tikhonov.

Like Sergei Fedorov, after the Olympics in 1989 he remained in Sweden, then both moved to the NHL. A criminal case was opened against these players in the USSR, in which they were accused as officers of treason to their homeland, but over time this accusation lost its relevance. These were the obstacles the first Russians faced in the NHL, where they confirmed their professionalism to the whole world.

Since the beginning of the 90s, hockey players from Russia began to leave en masse for North America. There were only 80 of them on US teams, but that number dropped in the 2000s due to declining quality of play and the prohibitive cost of purchasing players.

The most famous modern Russian players in the NHL

The list of Russians in the NHL today is undoubtedly topped by His performance as number eight in Washington, leaving no hockey fan indifferent. He is constantly improving his performance and gaining fans all over the world. He is the most exciting striker who has already received two Hart Trophy awards, and the peak of his career is still ahead of him. In the 2015/2016 season, the striker scored 43 goals in 73 games.

The statistics of Russians in the NHL show the stunning results of another forward - Evgeni Malkin. Entering the NHL in 2007, he earned the title of best new player in the league. Scored 27 goals in 53 matches last season.

Pavel Datsyuk today plays in Detroit as a brilliant striker. His play is admired by fans, and his statistics improve every season.

He played 72 matches as a striker, during which he scored 29 goals. Also playing the role of a successful forward is who, according to statistics, played 74 matches in the NHL and scored 25 goals. Young striker Evgeny Kuznetsov has 75 matches and 20 goals in the league.

The best Russian scorers in the NHL

The name of Sergei Fedorov is known to all hockey fans today. This man has received many awards, won the Stanley Cup three times, and his results as a scorer speak for themselves. The hockey player was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame.

Alexander Mogilny, after his escape from the Union, did not immediately receive the desired recognition. He worked for many years with the New Jersey team and was able to win the Stanley Cup. Mogilny took part in the all-star match more than once and is deservedly recognized as one of the best scorers.

On offense, the best Russians in the NHL have long been represented by a famous and honored NHL player whose name has become synonymous with the phrase “Russian hockey player.” For his brilliant play and quick reaction, fans of Vancouver and the Florida Panthers awarded Pavel the title of “Russian Rocket” and the title of the most top scorer their teams. Bure took part in the all-star game 7 times, and although he did not win the Stanley Cup, he forever secured his fame as a great athlete.

In addition to his merits in the role of a striker, he played the largest number of matches among Russians. The first captain among Russian players was who also gained enormous popularity in North America.

The most famous Russian defenders

Sergei Gonchar is the best defenseman among Russian hockey players abroad. In 1,301 games, he scored 811 points and won the Stanley Cup. His most productive game was with the Pittsburgh Penguins, where he now works as a coach.

Just like Gonchar, he achieved 1 thousand points while playing in the league and received the title of the most productive defender.

Canadiens player Andrei Markov is an attacking defenseman and, thanks to the love of his fans and a lot of work on himself, he became one of the best in hockey and also took part in the all-star game.

"Russian Five"

In 1995, Detroit coach Scotty Bowman, who was very fond of the students of the Russian school of hockey, created a legendary team of five Russian players, including Sergei Fedorov, Vyacheslav Fetisov, Vladimir Konstantinov, Vyacheslav Kozlov and Igor Larionov. With this composition, the team received the name “Russian Five” and earned the love of many fans. Russian hockey players in the NHL twice won the Stanley Cup, which is the most important award in the NHL, and also raised the team with their well-coordinated play.

The well-known Vyacheslav Fetisov became one of the best defenders of Soviet hockey and earned many awards, but his path to recognition was also quite thorny. Russians in the NHL went through real tests, where the really strongest players show themselves. Fetisov entered the NHL at the age of thirty and received serious injury, which did not stop him from achieving success and winning the main league cup.

Another member of the Russian five was defender Vladimir Konstantinov. His career in hockey league grew rapidly upward. Together with his compatriots, he managed to receive the main award in hockey. After a terrible car accident, Konstantinov left the NHL game forever.

Strong goalkeepers from Russia

The representative of the successful goaltender in the league is Nikolai Khabibulin, who in 2004 received the Stanley Cup for the first time among Russian goaltenders. For a long period, Khabibulin was considered the best goalkeeper in the hockey league.

Fans love Nikolai Nabokov very much and can be proud of him. He never managed to win the main cup, but thanks to the results of his play, he secured his reputation as one of the most successful athletes guarding the goal.

Russian goalkeeper Semyon Varlamov already has more than a hundred victories in the league. He successfully guarded the gates for Washington and Colorado.

The owner of the Stanley Cup is Ilya Bryzgalov, who received it as the goalkeeper of Anahayama. He also successfully played for the Edminton club, Phoenix, Minnesota and other clubs.

The best modern goalkeeper who amazes with his play is He has already become a living legend, and he still has many matches ahead of him in the NHL to go down in the history of world hockey.

Who's the best?

It is difficult to say who is the most famous and honored Russian hockey player of all time. But one thing is certain: Russians in the NHL have achieved tremendous individual and team results, thereby showing how professional the game is in Russia, which needs to be developed and encouraged. Without the legendary Russian stars, the history of world hockey would have lost many achievements and awards. It is impossible to single out just one player, because every talented defender or scorer from Russia has made a huge contribution to the development of an amazing and most courageous sport.

There is no doubt that this sport is the most masculine. The very word “hockey” gives me goosebumps. The image of a strong, brave and invincible man immediately appears in my head. It is worth noting that hockey players are some of the sexiest men in the world, and it’s hard to argue with that, because hockey is very dangerous sport, and scars, as you know, adorn men. We have collected the most attractive hockey players in Russia for you! Of course, not everyone; the second part of this fascinating rating awaits us. We hope you find it interesting, because some of these beauties are still available...

attack hockey club CSKA, 26 years old


This red-haired handsome man broke more than one girl's heart. Charming, talented and very well-mannered. In addition to hockey, the athlete loves wakeboarding and supports football club Real Madrid.


Dima has a girlfriend - a singer Alesya Visich(30), whom he was introduced to by mutual friends. They have been dating for about a year.

forward of the CSKA hockey club, 28 years old

Hockey club player CSKA Igor Makarov makes a successful career in Russia.

His main muse and fan is his beloved wife, a famous TV presenter (44). In summer 2013 years, the lovers played a magnificent wedding.

forward of the SKA hockey club, 32 years old

Even if you don’t watch hockey, you probably still know who . Two-time world hockey champion as a member of the Russian national team and winner of the prestigious Gagarin Cup as part of SKA made a successful career both overseas and in Russia.

He saw his future wife on TV. Spectacular and sexy lead singer of the group "Mirage" Nicole Ambrazaitis(31) won the athlete’s heart from the first seconds. The lovers got married. Nicole and Ilya are raising four children: sons Artema And Philippa, as well as daughters Carolina And Eve.

forward of the CSKA hockey club, 27 years old

He's just at the start of his career. IN 2015 Maxim was recognized best newcomer season of the Kontinental Hockey League. Mamin cannot yet boast of high-profile victories both on the ice and in his personal life. For him, hockey comes first now. The best part is that he is very attractive and is still available.

forward of the Dynamo hockey club, 25 years old


A handsome and sexy athlete with incredible eyes. He managed to play overseas, and today plays for a hockey club "Dynamo". A year ago, there was one less bachelor - Nikita got married! Little is known about his chosen one, but previously the hockey player was credited with an affair with a gymnast Svetlana Gavrilyuk.

Detroit Red Wings forward, 37 years old


Brutal is currently playing overseas. Two-time winner Stanley Cup today one of the brightest and most productive Russian hockey players in NHL. Was married twice.


Pavel met his first girlfriend when he was 18 years old. She gave him a daughter Elizabeth(14). This marriage, alas, broke up.And in 2012 year he met his new love - Maria who bore him a daughter Vasilisa (2).

forward of the Amur hockey club, 24 years old


A bright guy with gypsy roots. He loves hockey and beautiful girls. Amur tiger play in Khabarovsk. Young, talented, and most importantly, single.

hockey player, 42 years old

Holder Stanley Cup 1994 of the year, Olympic champion 1992 year, one of the strongest hockey players in the world. His awards and titles can be listed endlessly. Alexey loves not only ice, but also the sky. He completed his piloting course and now flies his own plane. The athlete is also actively involved in charity work. Kovalev does not like to talk about his personal life; it is only known that he is married and has two sons.

hockey player, 44 years old

One of the most beautiful hockey players in Russia, whose posters adorned the walls of many girls in love. Nickname Russian Rocket It was not given to the athlete by chance - it was very difficult to resist this hockey player on the ice. He spent 12 seasons in the National Hockey League, playing for such teams as Vancouver Canucks, Florida Panthers And New York Rangers. Pavel is a ladies' man. For a long time he had a relationship with TV presenter Marika, but it never came to a wedding. People say that Bure dated the daughter of singer Joseph Kobzon, as well as a tennis player Anna Kournikova.

He is now married to model Alina Khasanova, who bore him two children: Pasha(3) and Alina(1). And last year he became president of the International League of World Hockey Legends.

hockey player, 46 years old

There is no doubt that he is a real handsome man. He currently serves as the club's general manager. CSKA, and once defended the colors of this club. Sergey has made a successful career not only in Russia, but also abroad. As part of the team NHL Detroit Red Wings he became the owner of three Stanley Cups. And in 2015, the name of Sergei Fedorov appeared in the Hockey Hall of Fame, which is a great pride for any athlete.

Little is known about his personal life, but for a long time the press discussed Sergei’s affair with a tennis player Anna Kournikova. There are rumors that the former lovers managed to get married and divorced. But only they know what really happened. People say that after Anna the hockey player had relationships with actresses Tara Reid(40) and Jennifer Love Hewitt (37).


But he married a young girl - a former model named Karina. The couple has Sergei's wife on last month pregnancy.

The NHL clubs' applications for the 2018/19 season include 55 hockey players with Russian citizenship, but, of course, not all of them will have the opportunity to prove themselves during the regular season. The competition in the strongest hockey league in the world is too high, the business is too serious to take unnecessary risks and experiment.

But the expectations from the game among the top 10 Russians are the highest. To what extent are they justified at the start of a marathon?

Ten highest paid Russians in the NHL in the 2018/19 season

1. Alexander Ovechkin (33 years old, forward, Washington) - $10 million (average contract salary - $9.54 million)

2. Evgeny Kuznetsov (26, forward, Washington) - 10 (7.8)

3. Evgeni Malkin (32, forward, Pittsburgh) - 9.5 (9.5)

4. Ilya Kovalchuk (35, forward, Los Angeles) - 8.5 (6.25)

5. Alexander Radulov (32, forward, Dallas) - 8 (6.25)

6. Vladimir Tarasenko (26, forward, St. Louis) - 7 (7.5)

7. Sergei Bobrovsky (30, goalkeeper, Columbus) - 6.2 (7.425)

8. Artemiy Panarin (26, forward, Columbus) - 6 (6)

9. Dmitry Orlov (27, defenseman, Washington) - 6.5 (5.1)

10. Semyon Varlamov (30, goalkeeper, Colorado) - 5.5 (5.9)

For comparison: the Calgary defenseman has the smallest contract among Russian NHL players. Rinata Valieva— 650 thousand dollars (calculated until the end of the 2018/19 season).

Ovechkin

Having reached the age of Christ, Alexander the Great fulfilled his lifelong dream by finally winning the Stanley Cup last season. There can be no other goal other than defending the title. In addition, Ovechkin could become the first player in league history to win the Maurice Richard Trophy best sniper regular season) for the eighth time.

Ovi started the season in good health: 6 matches - 9 points for performance (6 goals + 3 assists). And, besides, managed to enter the top ten best hockey players league all-time for most power play goals (232 goals).

Kuznetsov

Ovechkin's partner Evgeny Kuznetsov has scored a point more so far (10). The club's owners and fans, not without reason, expect that the forward, who is in his prime, will raise his status to “superstar” this season.

— 83 points in the last regular season (personal best) allowed Kuznetsov to get only into the top 20 best players NHL in terms of productivity, notes one of America's leading hockey journalists Tariq El Bashir.“But a superstar is the person who always comes to mind first when you think of a team. Someone who can single-handedly bring results in a single game or in a playoff series.

Malkin

On October 16, Pittsburgh lost to Vancouver (2:3), and three-time Stanley Cup winner Stanley Malkin earned a point for his performance. This is his 939th point in his overseas career, and now Evgeniy is among the top 100 most productive players in NHL history. Of course, he won’t reach Wayne Gretzky’s record (2857 points), but he is quite capable of becoming the best among Russians. For now, this position is occupied by Sergei Fedorov, who retired long ago (1179 points).

And one more thing: if Pittsburgh wins the Stanley Cup, Malkin will become the only Russian, who has four championship rings.

Kovalchuk

Kovalchuk spent the last 5 seasons in the KHL, so experts can only guess whether the veteran will again be able to fit into the requirements of the overseas league. On high places“Los Angeles” does not count on it (last season the team barely clinged to the playoffs, but crashed out in the first round, suffering 4 defeats from “Las Vegas”), but it is quite possible to increase entertainment.

Covey should contribute at least 30 goals and 20 assists in the regular season. In the first 6 matches, he scored twice and assisted twice. Well, that's a good start.

Radulov

Dallas failed last season (6th, penultimate place in its division and missed the playoffs), but Radulov was one of the best in the lineup: 72 points for performance. Now he is obliged not only to maintain, but also to strengthen his status as a leader - both on the ice and off the ice. And his team wants to reach the playoffs. For the 4th time in the last 11 seasons.

At the moment, Radulov, with 10 points (4+6), is in the top ten most productive players of the season, and Dallas, which scored exactly 50% of the points, is in the playoff zone. That is, so far everything is going according to plan.

Tarasenko

At the end of last season, Vladimir was seriously injured, underwent surgery and had a long recovery. And in general, that season did not work out - neither for him personally, nor for the team, which did not make it to the playoffs. Tarasenko’s task is to regain the status of the team’s top scorer (that’s 75-80 points at a minimum) and bring it to the decisive stage.

So far things are going smoothly: only 2 goals scored. The Blues are at the bottom of the table: 5 defeats in 6 matches and 28th overall (out of 31).

Bobrovsky

During the 6 years spent in Columbus, Bobrovsky twice won the Vezina Trophy (a prize best goalkeeper championship), and it is with his play that the team’s successes in modern history(3 playoff appearances in the last 5 years).

This season is Sergei’s last under his contract, and he most likely will not renew it. They say that next summer the goalie plans to enter the free agent market and try to get himself conditions no worse than the highest paid goalie in the NHL, Carey Price, who receives $10.5 million a year in Montreal.

But the start of the season somehow didn’t go well. Bobrovsky updated his own anti-record: in the match against Tampa, the Russian goalkeeper conceded 8 goals for the first time in his career. However, these are all particulars, especially since in the first 5 games his team won 3 victories. That is, in general the flight is normal.

Panarin

Bobrovsky's teammate, scorer, funny man, joker and public favorite Artemi Panarin will also most likely part with his current team at the end of the season. He wants to get his next contract not in provincial Ohio, but somewhere in New York, Los Angeles or Miami, although he assures that he really likes everything in Columbus.

The club sets Artemy the task of scoring 80-90 points in the regular season (in the past it was 81), and 6 of them are already on his account. Well, we need to go further in the playoffs than last spring. There is one consolation: in the first round, Columbus lost to the future Stanley Cup winner Washington.

Orlov

The only defender in the “Russian top”. Reliable, stable, still young, but already experienced and titled. The only complaint against him is his poor offensive performance. 31 points from last year for performance, as desired coaching staff, should turn into 35-40. Otherwise, everything is fine with Dmitry.

Varlamov

Colorado, apparently, is preparing to part with the Russian goalkeeper, for whom this will be his 9th season at the club. Contract ends, replacement (26-year-old German Philip Grubauer) ready.

However, Varlamov is not particularly reluctant. Money is money, but you also need to think about your soul. More precisely, about career achievements. But there are none: in the previous 8 seasons there were only 2 participations in the playoffs, and even then with elimination in the first round. 30 years old is the age of prime and, despite the increased injury rate, Semyon has every reason to count on an agreement with a more ambitious club.

Nikita Kucherov (25 years old, forward, Tampa Bay, annual salary - $5.5 million, contract average - 4.76)

Kucherov is not in the top ten in Russia in terms of salary, but this is temporary. He is a true superstar. Last regular season, Nikita reached the 100-point mark, and his Tampa team finished third in the championship and reached the conference playoff finals, where they lost to Washington (3:4) in a dramatic fight.

Kucherov’s goals for this season are the most ambitious: winning the Stanley Cup, the Maurice Richard Trophy and the Art Ross Trophy (a prize for the most points using the goal+pass system in the regular season) for personal use.

And yes, Nikita’s “meager” contract is not worth paying attention to special attention, he acts Last year. According to the new one, calculated until 2027, the forward will earn $76 million (9.5 million on average).

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