Here’s a wild report. Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet.ca reports Detroit Red Wings forward Pavel Datsyuk may leave the team at the end of the season and return to Russia.
@FriedgeHNIC reports Pavel Datsyuk may decide to leave the NHL and return to Russia after this season.
— Damien Cox (@DamoSpin) April 3, 2016
Here’s what Sportsnet’s Mike Johnston wrote about the report:
“If Datsyuk does leave the NHL it would be due to family reasons. Neither Datsyuk nor the Red Wings are commenting on the situation. It is expected that Datsyuk, his management team and the Red Wings will sit down at the end of the season to discuss a final decision.”
Losing Datsyuk would obviously be a crippling blow for the Wings. The 37-year-old has played his entire career with Detroit since joining them in 2001-2002 and is still a productive player. Datsyuk’s offensive production may not be what it used to be, but he’s still an effective scorer with 16 goals, 31 assists and 47 points in 62 games in 2015-16. The four-time Lady Byng Trophy winner is best known for his elite defensive prowess. Bottom line is, he’s still a huge piece for the Red Wings.
Datsyuk’s departure would not only negatively affect Detroit’s on-ice product, but would also be a blow to their cap flexibility. As NHL Numbers notes the Red Wings would still be responsible for Datsyuk’s remaining $7.5 million cap hit next year if he leaves, since he signed his three-year extension after the age of 35.
Datsyuk’s agent told Ansar Kahn of MLive.com that he’ll discuss his contract situation at season end with Red Wings GM Ken Holland.
Milstein (cont.): "Pavel also has one more year left on his NHL contract. We will sit down with Ken Holland at the conclusion of the season
— Ansar Khan (@AnsarKhanMLive) April 3, 2016
Milstein (cont). … for our annual year end meeting."
— Ansar Khan (@AnsarKhanMLive) April 3, 2016
We’ll update the story should more information break.
