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Radulov bolts to RSL

From TSN:

Alexander Radulov has made the jump back home, as the young forward signed with Ufa of the Russian Superleague on Thursday.

The financial details of the contract were not disclosed.

Radulov, who is still under contract with the Nashville Predators, said he had warned the team that he wanted to play in Russia.

“I told my bosses in Nashville that I wanted to play at home and some Russian clubs were offering me much better conditions than I had in Nashville,” Radulov told the Russian media.

“They said they would call me back but never phoned. It seems that they were either not really interested in me or just did not believe I could return home. One way or another, I’m happy to come home.”


Radulov, 22, scored 22 goals and 58 points in 82 games with Nashville last season and made $688,900. He has one year left on his entry-level deal that pays $984,000 next season.

The former Quebec Rempart added that it was unlikely that the Predators would be able to demand his return to North America, as the NHL had no transfer agreement with either the Russian Superleague or the new Continental Hockey League at the time.

Habster:

Regardless if Radulov signed the contract with Ufa of the RSL before the tranfer agreement, this will certainly test the good will and cooperation of the parties involved (IIHF, NHL and RHF). The timing of the Radulov signing is absolutely terrible especially one day after the agreement was signed.

If he warned GM David Poile, then they obviously didn’t take it seriously.

I can’t imagine how the fan base in Nashville feel about this act of disloyalty by Radulov. Even if he gave the Predators a warning, it was in the form of black mail…..”pay me top dollar or I’m out of here!!”

Radulov had a breakout season last year (58 points in 82 games) and is only 22 years old so he would have earned a big contract ($3-$4 million per season) next year after his NHL entry contract would have expired. What’s the rush???

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