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KHL F Alexander Radulov Plans to Make NHL Return

By Ryan Ritchie

SOCHI, RUSSIA - FEBRUARY 16: Alexander Radulov #47 of Russia celebrates after scoring a goal in a shoot out against Jan Laco #50 of Slovakia during the Men's Ice Hockey Preliminary Round Group A game on day nine of the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics at Bolshoy Ice Dome on February 16, 2014 in Sochi, Russia. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
SOCHI, RUSSIA - FEBRUARY 16: Alexander Radulov #47 of Russia celebrates after scoring a goal in a shoot out against Jan Laco #50 of Slovakia during the Men's Ice Hockey Preliminary Round Group A game on day nine of the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics at Bolshoy Ice Dome on February 16, 2014 in Sochi, Russia. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /
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KHL F Alexander Radulov Plans to Make NHL Return, but Should the League Reciprocate?

After several months of speculation, rumors were put to rest on Friday when KHL F Alexander Radulov traveled to New York to announce his plans of returning to the NHL in 2016-17.

Strange how a player with only 154 games of NHL experience, who has spent the majority of the last eight years (other than a brief stint in 2011-12) in Russia can create so much buzz in the hockey world.

There’s no doubt that KHL F Alexander Radulov could step into an NHL lineup and have a decent impact. But the question we should be asking is, “do we even want this guy back in the league?”

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His past actions raise major red flags regarding character concerns. Many of his past decisions give the impression that his decisions are driven by selfishness.

It didn’t matter to Alex that he had one year remaining on his contract with Nashville in 2008, because a KHL club was willing to offer him “better conditions“.

Once his contract expired in Russia, he decided to return to Nashville for that short stint at the end of 2011-12. On May 1st, 2012, Alex Radulov and Andrei Kostitsyn were caught at a Scottdale (Arizona) bar breaking curfew at 5:00AM. Nashville opts not to offer him a new contract; Radulov signs once again in the KHL. 

Since that time, we receive a report once or twice a year it seems where Radulov expresses his desire to return to North America; and all of a sudden everyone gets all warm and fuzzy with the thought of adding the dynamic Russian winger to their team.

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But doesn’t all of the above scream selfish individualism?

What General Manager is willing to roll the dice to insert that dynamic in their dressing room?

The most interesting part about a potential return is how the contract would be structured. A team cannot simply throw $4 or $5 million dollars at this guy on a multi-year deal; there’s too much risk involved.

Instead, Managers will need to get creative with incentives, bonuses, clauses, whatever it may be to ensure a team can protect themselves from this known flight risk.

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Given what we know about KHL F Alexander Radulov, there’s no reason for teams to be lining up for his services – at least there shouldn’t be.

Will he find a NHL job? Unfortunately, yes.

The question still remains, should the NHL even reciprocate to Friday’s announcement? In my opinion, the NHL survived without Ilya Kovalchuk, it can survive without Alex Radulov.

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