Waived: [NJD] Devils waive Nikita Gusev

[stevo61]

As a Columbus fan Id easily take the chance. There is skill there and Columbus needs a huge boost in overall skill level

 

[Zajacs Bowl Cut]

guys, keep in mind the Devils are one of the worst finishing teams in the league and he could not crack the lineup this year

I mean, his contract is expiring so I guess it doesn't hurt to take a chance, but he was REALLY bad this year.

 

[eviohh26]

I could see a team picking him up. He did flop in the nhl based on his pre hype.

 

[VVP]

Guy scored 44 in 60 something games last season.

How could he decline so much this year?!?

I would take a chance on him.

Covid and Lindy Ruff

 

[Better Call Sal]

It's a shame, I really like him and was hoping to see him build off of last year's strong finish. And given all of the chaos that came before this new season, I was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt for coming out of the gate slow.

Unfortunately, it seemed that he didn't mesh with what Ruff is trying to build for the team, for better or worse. He certainly didn't do himself any favors with his play, he never looked comfortable this year at any point and it showed. Poor decision making, lack of finish and poor footspeed did him in. Soon enough he was in the press box and never got a chance to really redeem himself.

Hope he gets a chance elsewhere, but I'm happy he played here even if briefly. He was really fun to watch in the second half last year.

 

[Davegarri]

I think the ten month layoff killed him, then getting covid didn't help either. He wasn't fast to begin with, but he looked extra slow this year.

I'm not shocked at all and it's why I was super annoyed with how non-bubble teams were treated this offseason. Not playing games or practicing for ten months is ridiculously long for even a high school athlete, never mind a pro.

Glad we got the extra two days of practice or whatever to start the season though. What an advantage.

 

[Kshahdoo]

Hope, he's going to be a good mentor for Michkov for next few years. But first, he'll score some points at the Olympics to "bests of the bests", playing in the right system and with proper players.

 

[DingDongCharlie]

Why trade for him when you can wait for him to go on waivers and pick him up for free?

Team usually prefer to or need to send cap back or a player or that counts towards the contract limit.

 

[CupHolders]

IMO, Osgood's waiving is kind of apples to oranges because it happened in the pre-lockout/cap waiver "draft". It was teams knowing the Wings would have to expose him or Legace that kept them from making a deal with the Wings during the offseason. Had it not been for that, the Wings might've found a taker in a trade during the summer, or kept him on the roster into the season until the right deal was found. And IIRC, he was making north of $3M a year at that point as well.

Oh I understand that specific circumstances essentially lead him to be available to the Isles. My point was really more to corroborate the poster’s comment. It IS rare to see high salary/cap players picked off waivers.

A single exception (Osgood, in a twenty year period) generally proves the rule (high priced players are just not picked up on waivers) as true.

Again, I’m sure there are other examples I’m forgetting. But essentially it is true that GM’s just don’t go for high priced waiver pickups.

 

[Hostile Offer]

Didn't he have a pretty solid year last year after a sluggish start? What happened? Is there a chance he will terminate his contract if he goes unclaimed and heads back to Russia?

 

[Oddbob]

His salary/cap hit alone is why teams won't claim him. Then add on he has played bad at both ends of the ice and he for sure doesn't get claimed.

 

[ItWasJustified]

Link?

Mega-rich recoup COVID-losses in record-time yet billions will live in poverty for at least a decade | Oxfam International

i'm not sure what you mean by this. what were these "initial losses" and how did they recoup that money? and even if they recouped their initial losses they would still be losing ridiculous amounts of money once the season began.

The initial losses when the pandemic ''started'' and governments started with their lockdowns.

you actually think owners are going to turn a profit this season? how, exactly, would they do that?

Probably not on hockey, but these people have tons of other investments and businesses.

 

[SoundAndFury]

Kontiola was the best scorer in 2013, but all time he's not top 100.

I meant his 16 points in 2013 were very close to the scoring record.

 

[Albatros]

I meant his 16 points in 2013 were very close to the scoring record.

Excellent for sure, but only tied for 44th all time although with Gusev as well as guys like Crosby, Thornton, and Saku Koivu. The record is Vladimir Petrov's 18+16=34 from 1973 though.

 

[SoundAndFury]

Excellent for sure, but only tied for 44th all time although with Gusev as well as guys like Crosby, Thornton, and Saku Koivu. The record is Vladimir Petrov's 18+16=34 from 1973 though.

I vaguely remember it being touted as some kind of record at the time (or close to it) but maybe it was x points in y games, best since 1990 or something along those lines..

Well, in any case, Gusev scoring 12 seems perfectly normal when Kontiola, who wasn't really a big scorer or truly a star player even by European standards, can get 16.

 

[Zen Arcade]

Because contrary to what many people say skating on the big ice doesn't matter that much, especially for a forward. Also, isn't Petri Kontiola 2nd best scorer of all time in the WC or something along those lines? It's a weird tournament.

Dominik Simon had 4 points less than Gusev and he's another player with smarts and vision that hasn't been able to parlay those things into being an especially productive NHLer.

 

[Steezyjacket]

yes please

 

[Springfield Isotopes]

Maybe they trade him with 50% retention for a 7th.. Think at a cap of 2.25 its worth a risk

 

[HFBS]

Putin working the phones......

 

[Bankers Box]

It is a just a typical hockey thing, you attach a label that a player is a slow skater and many casuals start repeating and it can last forever. He is not slow, he is faster than half of NJ roster. He is just on a very wrong team. Devils is a hole that will not be fixed for many many years. They have not a single player that I would be interested in when buiilding a team.

I’m a Gusev fan but what you just wrote shows quite clearly you have no idea what you’re talking about.

Gusev is faster than half the team? Lol, he is easily the slowest forward on the team. He just can’t play the north/south system that Ruff employs.

No reason for you to spew nonsense though.

 

[SniperOnTheWing]

As a Columbus fan Id easily take the chance. There is skill there and Columbus needs a huge boost in overall skill level

Torts already doesn't click with an offense only player like Laine and you want to give him a one dimensional Gusev too?!

 

[Peter Sidorkiewicz]

Maybe they trade him with 50% retention for a 7th.. Think at a cap of 2.25 its worth a risk

Isn’t their a rule that you can only retain 3 players max at one time?

It makes little sense for NJ to retain 50% for a net gain of a 7th round pick. NJ don’t have cap issues. If they are retaining on a contract, it is to maximise return.

I think they can get more trade return for Palmieri, Murray and Zajac (if he waives NTC) if those are the contracts that NJ retain 50%.

 

[Guttersniped]

Mega-rich recoup COVID-losses in record-time yet billions will live in poverty for at least a decade | Oxfam International

The initial losses when the pandemic ''started'' and governments started with their lockdowns.

Probably not on hockey, but these people have tons of other investments and businesses.

That’s not how a businesses works though, the NHL lost a ton of money this season and is continuing to do so. That’s why they froze the cap, so it wouldn’t go down with revenue. They’re counting on the addition of Seattle, which normally would bump the salary cap up +5m, to help stabilize it. That’s why the cap is frozen for another year and then is will start to be able to move again (but they limited to how much it could). The losses have been massive though, some people are predicting that the salary cap won’t go up much at all for next four years.

No one was suggesting that the owners would be destitute because of it but massive losses is an issue. And some teams, for example like Columbus who’s owner doesn’t have a ton of money beyond the team, have less resources. Not all owners are created equal.

 

[IceNeophyte]

Mega-rich recoup COVID-losses in record-time yet billions will live in poverty for at least a decade | Oxfam International

You entirely misconstrued this article to suggest that the hockey organizations have economically recovered. They have not.

 

[Puckclektr]

I think it is a mix of a bunch of things. But I think he could have more success with thte right blend of players. Plenty of players who skate like him that can put up the points. The problem is that Gusev is a pass first player. The bigger problem. So is Bratt, Zacha, Hughes, and the rest of any of NJ's offensive threats with the exception of Palmieri who isn' t exactly a shoot first player either. Play Gusev with someone who can shoot and who does shoot and he will have more success.
He will probably clear waivers due to cap reasons. The teams that have cap space are clearly not in a position to contend and even if they are a team like Florida probably cannot justify taking a player for free and adding that salary to a team that is probably losing millions of dollars as it is.
I think some players with less salary are going to go for better picks this year(just a hunch). Teams cannot afford the salary due to Covid/revenue and would rather give up a valuable pick to get a player at $1-2 million than get a free player via waivers at $4.5. In all honesty I think a team would rather pay a third for a player like Nick Merkley at his salary than get Gusev for free. Low paying players will be the demand. Calling it now.