Player Discussion II. Valeri Nichushkin

BigG44

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Jul 12, 2007
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Yeah the other two have definitely shown better defense in the AHL I'll give them that. Its not like Oleksiak was terrible defensively down there though. I agree youd like to see the guy put his head down and work his ass off but at the same time i can see a certain level of frustration being hard to shake while the franchise seems to be so terrible at handling the young d situation. I still feel like he and Johns have 2nd pair upside while nemeth could top out on as a solid bottom pair guy.

It does seem like Nuke has bought into his own hype too much. While we could use a winger it might be better for his future if he stayed over there for awhile. I dont know if I can envision him having a great relationship with Hitch at this point.

For me, Oleksiak had his attitude before Ruff got here, and he wasn't mishandled until 2015-16, two full seasons after the one you're referring too. Now, Nieuwy blew a year of his ELC and waivers by playing him at all in 2012-13 which was a bungle, but as far as playing time and screwing him around, that didn't happen until 2015-16.

Instead of building on a really solid 2012-13, he didn't seem as engaged in 13-14, and being the first call up the next year, he coasted more than he competed in 14-15 in the AHL. He just never seemed to be playing at the same level as his peers IMO, but you absolutely saw flashes which kept me thinking he could turn a corner if it was an attitude issue.

He got a raw deal, just like Nemeth, the last two years, but he average over 70 games all three of the years I'm talking about, and he didn't get better as you would have hoped. Nemeth dealt with injuries a lot of those years which didn't allow him to always stick out either, but when he was in games, I feel like he consistently played well.
 

beepeearr

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Jan 11, 2006
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For me, Oleksiak had his attitude before Ruff got here, and he wasn't mishandled until 2015-16, two full seasons after the one you're referring too. Now, Nieuwy blew a year of his ELC and waivers by playing him at all in 2012-13 which was a bungle, but as far as playing time and screwing him around, that didn't happen until 2015-16.

Instead of building on a really solid 2012-13, he didn't seem as engaged in 13-14, and being the first call up the next year, he coasted more than he competed in 14-15 in the AHL. He just never seemed to be playing at the same level as his peers IMO, but you absolutely saw flashes which kept me thinking he could turn a corner if it was an attitude issue.

He got a raw deal, just like Nemeth, the last two years, but he average over 70 games all three of the years I'm talking about, and he didn't get better as you would have hoped. Nemeth dealt with injuries a lot of those years which didn't allow him to always stick out either, but when he was in games, I feel like he consistently played well.

Oleksiak and Nemeth both played really well defensively during our calder cup run, but yeah i remember their being talk the following year when Oleksiak would get sent back down that he seemed disinterested. That would have been during the Ruff era though. So who knows. Heika rarely throws anyone under the bus, but he will answer questions honestly. Meaning he isn't going to wright an article about how ruff mishandled a player. But he will tell you the truth when asked
 

Troy McClure

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Not that they care about my opinion but they shouldn't have to throw anyone under the bus had they been doing their jobs all this time. I stopped reading Heika last year because he was such a company man / apologist. Him saying things about Ruff now says more about him than Ruff.

Heika has done that many times. In particular, the day Ribeiro gets traded we find out all sorts of dirt about Ribeiro's time as a Star.

But I don't blame Heika. He is the only media person who reports on the team who isn't paid by the team. His paycheck depends on him getting quotes from players, coaches, and front office folks. If he gives out any of the dirt without team approval, he runs the risk of losing that access, which means he'd likely not last long at the paper.
 

Zine

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Mr Misty

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It's worth checking out the exact timeline, but I don't remember there being much lag between Nill effectively replacing Nichushkin with Hudler and him calling Nill's stupid bluff by actually signing in the KHL. A big commitment to Radulov now means less opportunity for Val to get minutes and no money for him at all.
 

MBTendy

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It's worth checking out the exact timeline, but I don't remember there being much lag between Nill effectively replacing Nichushkin with Hudler and him calling Nill's stupid bluff by actually signing in the KHL. A big commitment to Radulov now means less opportunity for Val to get minutes and no money for him at all.

That or Val would wanna rush back to play with a big name Russian star.
 

Mr Misty

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That or Val would wanna rush back to play with a big name Russian star.

If we assume he has to actually "buy" the part of his contract buy out, where is that money coming from? 11m isn't enough to stretch to Ritchie, Faksa, and Radulov let alone add the 2m ish Val would get as an RFA.
 

Troy McClure

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It's worth checking out the exact timeline, but I don't remember there being much lag between Nill effectively replacing Nichushkin with Hudler and him calling Nill's stupid bluff by actually signing in the KHL. A big commitment to Radulov now means less opportunity for Val to get minutes and no money for him attached all.

I'm pretty sure the Hudler signing only came after Nill knew Val was gone.
 

Mr Misty

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I'm pretty sure the Hudler signing only came after Nill knew Val was gone.

Hudler August 24
Nichushkin September 19

Shaprio talked to him about it at Traverse City apparently, not sure if we can pinpoint a day Nill knew anything but there was almost a month between the two signings.
 

Troy McClure

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August 24th is also when Nichushkin attended his second consecutive Traktor game with the team's GM. It took a few more weeks for Nichushkin to find his KHL home, but the timing of it all made it clear to me Nill new he needed to find an alternative since the Nichushkin option was off the table.
 

Mr Misty

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August 24th is also when Nichushkin attended his second consecutive Traktor game with the team's GM. It took a few more weeks for Nichushkin to find his KHL home, but the timing of it all made it clear to me Nill new he needed to find an alternative since the Nichushkin option was off the table.

Except his rights were sold by Traktor before he ever came to Dallas. I don't think you can read much into a player hanging out in his hometown with old friends who very much can't afford him. If Draisaitl goes back to Cologne and attends some Adler Mannheim games nobody is going to think twice about it.
 

BigG44

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Malamud is a guy I've seen several of the hockey media default to when it comes to Russian hockey news. He covers the KHL.

 

BigG44

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FWIW ... this isn't similar to the Sobotka situation with St. Louis meaning he would not be eligible to join the Dallas Stars when the KHL season is over next season. Sobotka technically was already under contract with the Blues because of an arbitration award. The award was a contract, he just didn't sign it allowing him to play in Russia under a KHL contract. Nuke is Dallas' property, but there's no contract in place. Players under contract in Europe who come to North America during the season to sign a contract have to pass through waivers. That likely should eliminate him from returning to Dallas before 2018-19.
 

Magic Mittens

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Better for his development over there. Who knows what minutes he'd get here

Would be cool to watch him at the olympics. Haven't seen him play in awhile now
 

txomisc

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Better for his development over there. Who knows what minutes he'd get here

Would be cool to watch him at the olympics. Haven't seen him play in awhile now

yeah it doesnt seem like his last khl season really indicated enough growth to be all that worried that he isnt coming over this year. let him stay in the khl until he is ready to contribute.
 

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