Gusev's contract with Florida, exchanges of Barabanov and Kulikov, new partners for Ovechkin: the main events of the NHL deadline

Gusev's second chance

One of the main events of the last days of the period of additional applications in the NHL was the signing of a contract between Nikita Gusev and the Florida Panthers.

One of the main heroes of the 2018 Olympic Games in Pyeongchang was not needed by New Jersey and was first put up for a draft refusals, but not a single team was needed, and then terminated the agreement with the club.

In this regard, there was every reason to believe that the Russian might not find a new job at all, as a result of which his return to his homeland would become inevitable, but the Panthers intervened in the matter.

One of the strongest teams in the Central Division decided to give the striker another chance and strengthen the squad before the playoffs.

Based on the current situation, Florida can be considered an almost ideal place to continue Gusev's career.

Yes, for the chance to compete for the Stanley Cup and prove his professional aptitude, he had to go for a solid salary cut (in the Devils he earned $ 4.5 million a year, and in the Panthers - $ 1 million), but this decision may be justified.

Largely thanks to the figure of the head coach, who has experience working with technical and creative players.

It is with the name of Joel Kennville that the last major successes of “Chicago” are connected, in which such stars as Patrick Kane and Artemy Panarin “worked”.

If in New Jersey Nikita had to play unusual hockey, which did not allow him to open up, then in the new team everything could be different.

Gusev himself has already demonstrated that he is capable of showing good results, if not forcing him to act in an uncomfortable manner for him.

In the last regular season, he was the second-best scorer of the Devils, and failed only after joining the coaching bridge with power hockey bettor Lindy Ruff.

Florida has already admired the Russian's skill and noted his playmaker skills, and Kenneville promised to find him a place in the squad.

And this is not difficult, given that left-handed striker Anthony Dyukler is injured, Mason Marchment comes in the first link with only eight (2 + 6) points in 25 matches, and in the third - Ryan Lomberg (two (1 + 1) in 23 ).

“We will find him a place in the squad, and he will tell himself how much and where he will play.

He is a very skilled player who knows how to score and is good on the majority.

He can play with good players.

Perhaps he will get this opportunity right away.

We will see how he handles this, and then we will decide.

With him in the squad we will definitely have a good choice, ”said Kenneville.

Barabanov and Kulikov exchanges

Before the end of the deadline, Gusev's former club parted ways with another Russian hockey player.

Following the striker, defender Dmitry Kulikov left the team, who joined the squad only at the beginning of the season.

At the same time, New Jersey did not demand serious compensation from Edmonton and agreed to exchange him for a choice in the fourth round of the 2022 draft.

This is probably due to the fact that the Russian's contract expires in the summer, after which he will become an unrestricted free agent.

It is noteworthy that in the current championship, Kulikov was a stable player in the Devils base and played 38 out of 40 matches. At the same time, he mainly came out in the first pair of defenders and was called upon to cover the rear, while his partner Pi Kay Subben was actively helping the attack.

Not to say that it worked out perfectly (at the moment the indicator of the Russian's usefulness is "-4"), but against the background of the Canadian ("-13") these figures look good.

But, apparently, in “New Jersey” they considered it insufficient and decided to get rid of the player, while at least something could be helped out for him.

Dmitry also got a chance to return to Canada, in which he spent the last three years.

Then he played for Winnipeg.

As for Barabanov, he clearly did not live up to the hopes of the Toronto coaching staff.

In the current championship, he played 13 matches and scored only one assists - the worst indicator among the team's strikers who went out on the ice ten or more times.

Basically, Alexander appeared in a link with Pierre Engvall and Wayne Simmonds, but did not even stand out against their background.

As a result, the transfer to San Jose in exchange for Antti Suomela.

Finn shows even less impressive numbers (not a single point in four games), but he also earns less ($ 700 thousand instead of $ 925 thousand).

It is rather difficult to talk about Barabanov's prospects at a new job.

Staying at Toronto made him seriously think about whether he possesses the necessary skills for a successful career in the overseas league, and the lack of confidence of the coach due to the colossal competition only made the situation worse.

At the same time, it cannot be said with certainty that in Sharks he will have much more chances to prove himself.

The top scorer of the team Evander Kane (16 + 19) closes his way to the first link, and for the places in the second and fourth he will have to compete with Rudolfs Balchers (6 + 7) and John Leonard (3 + 9).

Strengthening for "Washington"

In the last days before the deadline, a large-scale additional application campaign was carried out by Washington.

The capital's team decided to shake up the attacking line and made a large-scale exchange with Detroit.

Forwards Richard Panik and Jakub Vran went to the Red Wings, as well as one pick in two drafts, and in the opposite direction - Anthony Manta.

The Canadian has long been considered a very talented and potentially star hockey player, but so far he has not been able to justify the advances given to him.

Perhaps the reason for this is not the strongest composition of the team, which is confirmed by its recent results.

She last made the playoffs in 2016, and made her way to the conference semifinals in 2013.

At the same time, a bet on Mantoux seems to be quite risky.

In less than five years, he only once became the best sniper of Detroit in the regular season (24 goals in the 2017/18 season) and never crossed the 48 point mark.

Against the background of Vrana, this does not look impressive.

For the incomplete last championship, the Czech scored 52 (25 + 27) points, and in the current one he was completely ahead of the Canadian in the scorers' race (25:21), spending on the ice an average of almost four minutes less.

And don't forget about age.

Yakub is one and a half years younger, which in the future can also be of great importance.

In addition to Manta's controversial invitation, Washington also brought in Philadelphia striker Michael Raffl.

The compensation for the Austrian turned out to be significantly less (a choice in the fifth round of the 2021 draft), but in terms of its level it cannot be put on a par with the Canadian.

In the current championship, the forward chalked up three goals and five assists, and overcame the mark of 30 points only once in his career.

Thus, “Washington” has changed some of the extreme forwards to others.

Raffl came to the left instead of Vrana, and Manta instead of Panic came to the right.

Time will tell whether this is the right step on the part of Peter Laviolette and the company, but even now we can say that the Capitals are making a solid bet on the current playoffs.

Otherwise, they would not have made such serious changes.

Against this background, the departure of defender Jonas Siegenhaler to the Devils does not seem so important.

The 23-year-old Swiss has appeared on the ice only seven times and has not received a single score for performance.