Monty Posted March 19, 2015 Share Posted March 19, 2015 Jori Lehtera or Roman Cervenka? That’s the question to ask about Viktor Tikhonov’s and Artemi Panarin’s respective futures. According to a report from TASS, converted to English via Google Translate, the SKA Saint Petersburg teammates want to play in the NHL next season. Their KHL contracts expire after the league playoffs this spring. April 30, to be exact. So the question is: who are these guys, and will their NHL futures go the so-far-successful route of Lehtera or the short-and-not-so-sweet way of Cervenka? It won’t be the first rodeo for Tikhonov, 26, who shares a name with his grandfather, the legendary Soviet national team coach. The then-Phoenix Coyotes chose the young Viktor 28th overall in 2008, one pick after Washington nabbed John Carlson. Tikhonov’s 6-foot-2, 190-pound frame translated well to the NHL, and he did a nice job as a penalty-killing checker during his rookie season under some coach named Wayne Gretzky. The offense didn’t flow, though, as Tikhonov tallied eight goals and 16 points, albeit at just 20 years old. Tikhonov remains a two-way forward with strong hockey sense by trade, but his offense has developed a bit back home with SKA. He set career highs with 18 goals and 34 points last season. The year prior, he went on a playoff mission with 10 goals and 18 points in 15 games. He played two games for Russia at the Sochi Olympics and went nuts at the 2014 World Championship with eight goals and 16 points in 10 contests. Tikhonov is also versatile. He can play wing and center, and he once centered Vladimir Tarasenko and Ilya Kovalchuk for SKA. That said, his 2014-15 season has been fairly pedestrian. The Coyotes have Tikhonov’s rights at the moment, but his NHL deal expires this summer. He’ll be an unrestricted free agent this July. The bigger wild card is Panarin, 23, who trails Alexander Radulov by three points for the KHL scoring lead, though Radulov has played 12 fewer games. Panarin’s ability tantalizes, as he can rack up points, he’s fast and he has natural scoring ability. The most rabid Panarin fans compare his shifty skill set to Patrick Kane’s. Panarin’s 5-foot-11, 170-pound frame faces an uphill climb, however, as he’s not used to the more physical North American game on an NHL-sized ice surface. Panarin also lacks international experience at the highest level. He’s never represented Russia at the worlds or the Olympics, though he did make the 2011 world junior squad. He offers greater boom-bust potential than Tikhonov. Higher ceiling, lower floor. The report claims at least 10 NHL teams have expressed interest in Panarin already. It will be interesting to see if Tikhonov and Panarin try to sign with the same team, as the two have played well as linemates with SKA before. TASS’ source puts Tikhonov’s odds of bolting for the NHL at 95 percent, while Panarin will decide his fate at season’s end. Ex-KHL president Alexander Medvedev, now the chairman of SKA’s board of directors, stated he still hopes to re-sign both players. The question now is: how much does their imminent departure have to do with wanting to test themselves in the NHL, and how much has to do with the declining Russian ruble? So, the question is, out of the reported ten teams bidding for his services, are the the Canucks one of them? If not, should they be? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
desiboynux4lifee******* Posted March 19, 2015 Share Posted March 19, 2015 In before fans mention Shirokov kid. Here is the thing with Shirokov, he did exactly what he was asked. He put up decent numbers in the AHL; it was coach AV who didn't give him a fair chance to even showcase what he had. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monty Posted March 19, 2015 Author Share Posted March 19, 2015 ^^ Hmm. Perhaps I should have re-titled my thread. "Discuss Artemi Panarin NOT Shirokov, Filatov, or other Russian players." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baer. Posted March 19, 2015 Share Posted March 19, 2015 Looks like they are trying to sign with the same team. Doubt canucks are interested. We already have good bottom 6 guys. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gstank29 Posted March 19, 2015 Share Posted March 19, 2015 Probably signs with Buffalo, Arizona, or some other bottom dweller that neeeds some more offence Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monty Posted March 19, 2015 Author Share Posted March 19, 2015 St. Louis has one of the 10 teams rumoured for Panarin. Can't see a better organization for him to adjust to the NHL than the Blues. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derp... Posted March 19, 2015 Share Posted March 19, 2015 Free good NHL players are hard to come by, and I hope JB will at least look into this especially if they end up going to a western team. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hatedkid666 Posted March 19, 2015 Share Posted March 19, 2015 Never hurts to look into it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick Grimes Posted March 19, 2015 Share Posted March 19, 2015 Turned out to be a solid player in STHS xD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zfetch Posted March 19, 2015 Share Posted March 19, 2015 St. Louis has one of the 10 teams rumoured for Panarin. Can't see a better organization for him to adjust to the NHL than the Blues. The Capitals? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
S N Y P E R S 7 Posted March 19, 2015 Share Posted March 19, 2015 Panarin is a KHL star, it's unlikely he comes to the NHL. I've watched him since that world juniors series a few years back, and he's grown to be a fan favorite over there. Teams can have interest but in the end it's up to Panarin. I can see the Canucks being an option for him, what with Pavel Bure playing in the city. That being said, it's unlikely he signs to an NHL team. What spawned the idea for this thread? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monty Posted March 20, 2015 Author Share Posted March 20, 2015 Panarin is a KHL star, it's unlikely he comes to the NHL. I've watched him since that world juniors series a few years back, and he's grown to be a fan favorite over there. Teams can have interest but in the end it's up to Panarin. I can see the Canucks being an option for him, what with Pavel Bure playing in the city. That being said, it's unlikely he signs to an NHL team. What spawned the idea for this thread? If you had read the article, what spawned the idea was the fact that it's reported he wants to come over. Also, last week on HNIC, Elliot Friedman reported that Panarin is being heavily courted by "up to 10 teams." The the decline in the ruble, as well as several teams in the KHL a going bankrupt, are causing all players in the KHL to start looking at their long term future in the KHL. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
S N Y P E R S 7 Posted March 20, 2015 Share Posted March 20, 2015 If you had read the article, what spawned the idea was the fact that it's reported he wants to come over. Also, last week on HNIC, Elliot Friedman reported that Panarin is being heavily courted by "up to 10 teams." The the decline in the ruble, as well as several teams in the KHL a going bankrupt, are causing all players in the KHL to start looking at their long term future in the KHL. I didn't read it, I remember hearing about it a while ago, though. That being said, the players want to stay in Russia - it's not like they are the problems behind the bankruptcy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monty Posted March 20, 2015 Author Share Posted March 20, 2015 I didn't read it...That being said, the players want to stay in Russia As per the article, "According to a report from TASS...the SKA St Petersburg teammates want to play in the NHL next season." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
S N Y P E R S 7 Posted March 20, 2015 Share Posted March 20, 2015 As per the article, "According to a report from TASS...the SKA St Petersburg teammates want to play in the NHL next season." I didn't read the article. That being said, it's pretty cool that Russians want to come over to the NHL. I can see Buffalo being in on a few of them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick Grimes Posted March 21, 2015 Share Posted March 21, 2015 I didn't read the article. That being said, it's pretty cool that Russians want to come over to the NHL. I can see Buffalo being in on a few of them. I understand why you think that, but it really isn't as cool as you might think. The Russian Ruble has fallen dramatically, I expect to see a whole bunch of heartless players trying to snag an NHL deal over the next 2-3 seasons. I expect Jim Benning & Trevor Linden will avoid KHLers like the plague as well. For every Lehtera, there are 4-5 Radulov's waiting to make a quick buck and get the hell out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nail Posted April 28, 2015 Share Posted April 28, 2015 Panarin is close to joining the Chicago Blackhawks as per Elliotte Friedman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monty Posted April 29, 2015 Author Share Posted April 29, 2015 Panarin is close to joining the Chicago Blackhawks as per Elliotte Friedman Hope this happens. If so, my gamble in signing him in our fantasy league will pay off in spades. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nail Posted April 29, 2015 Share Posted April 29, 2015 Hope this happens. If so, my gamble in signing him in our fantasy league will pay off in spades. Never know, look at Teravainen.. Everyone thought he'd rip it up in Chicago as well.. Its taken him a while to adjust, although he is considerably younger. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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