He was voted as the team’s most improved player. That’s not the kind of assessment you’d give to someone you can’t wait to get rid of.
Not to seem overly cynical, but I always figured they threw him that bone because he took that nasty hit from Hartnell near the end of the season and wanted to show team support for him in some way. Hard to say anyone on this team counts as "most improved" after a year like this... no less the guy who only played once every few games and missed a month from the flu or whatever.
...
Somehow stumbled onto Antipin's lockerroom cleanout interview just now, and I feel like the point about the language barrier is a valid one. Not to pick on the guy, he seems nice enough and he's doing his best... and I'm sure he was nervous being interviewed like that (especially considering the barrier)... but he could barely answer what he learned or in what way he felt he improved over the year. Took a solid 30 seconds to come up with the words "defensive zone" and those two words are basically where the answer started and ended.
I have no doubt it was probably a battle for the coaching staff to really get a feel for where Antipin was at any given point or what he actually understood from them. Not that he's unwilling to learn or unable or anything, but you have to be able to communicate with your teammates and coaches with more than just body language. That's a tough spot for Antipin and for the coaches.
I don't see him coming back... not with Dahlin, Pilut, Guhle and Nelson all being potential adds to the opening lineup next year, and Ristolainen, Scandella, McCabe, Bogosian and Beaulieu still on the books. And/or any other offseason moves.