Flyers Rumors: Russian Roulette

Much has been made of the Philadelphia Flyers off-season signing of Ukrainian right winger Nikolai Zherdev. The length and cap hit are favorable for a regular 25-goal scorer (1 year, $2 million), but his reputation for poor work ethic and weak defensive play add a risky x-factor. Another consideration of this signing is that young Russian/Eastern European hockey players are known for having difficulty acclimating to the NHL when their team lacks another player with a similar background. Thus, teams often try to sign Russians in multiples; a Russian “buddy system” if you will.

It was rumored earlier this summer that the Flyers were looking into some of the Russian free agents available to complement Zherdev and fill in the third right winger position. The names that were being thrown around the most were Maxim Afinogenov, Slava Kozlov and Ruslan Fedotenko. Former Atlanta Thrashers winger Maxim Afinogenov has since signed a five-year contract with SKA St. Petersburg, the New York Yankees of the KHL. Kozlov also played with the Thrashers last year, but is coming off a poor season and will soon turn 39. As there are few teams willing to match the $3.67 million he made over the last three seasons, he will likely head to the KHL as well. Fedotenko, originally signed by the Flyers in 1999, has won two Stanley Cups with the Tampa Bay Lightning and Pittsburgh Penguins.

I held off on posting these rumors for awhile until I heard something more concrete. CSN reporter Tim Panaccio wrote on Hockeybuzz today that, “Paul Holmgren told me today he talked to Zherdev about the very question I raised: does he need another Russian in the room?… Holmgren said he was satisfied the current ‘support’ system is in place on the Flyers to help Zherdev because Zherdev assured him it was not necessary. Which is why Ruslan Fedotenko is not here.”

Fedotenko and Kozlov are not the missing jigsaw pieces for this team to return to the Stanley Cup Finals, but I would like to see the Flyers put someone on the third line for Giroux to work with who has a hard shot instead of Dan Carcillo. Aaron Asham worked decently, but I can see why the Flyers would be looking to upgrade there. General manager Paul Holmgren is taking a gamble on Zherdev fitting into this roster, especially when you consider how well Russians have been received by the Flyers in the past.

In other news, college free agent Bill Sweatt has signed with the Vancouver Canucks, dashing my hopes to bits.