Vladimir Sobotka isn’t coming back to the NHL for the 2016-17 season.
Reports on the former St. Louis Blues forward pinballed back-and-forth this offseason in regards to a potential return to the league. In late March, “all indications” pointed to Sobotka returning to the Blues from Avangard Omsk of the KHL. In late July, the reports got fuzzy, as mixed messages from Sobotka’s camp made it unclear what his true intentions were. Finally, in late August the general manager of Omsk claimed Sobotka wasn’t returning to the Blues, somewhat contradicting Blues general manager Doug Armstrong.
Finally, a resolution has reportedly occurred and it’s not going to please St. Louis fans. According to Avangard Omsk’s president, Sobotka is returning to the KHL to fulfill the final season in his three-year contract.
“The situation is developing exactly as we expected. Sobotka has Omsk [have a] valid contract for next year and representatives of the KHL to the NHL signed a memorandum of respect for treaties,” said club president Vladimir Šhalaev in a statement on Omsk’s website.
#KHL and central registry have also confirmed that Sobotka will return to Avangard Omsk.
— Aivis Kalniņš (@aiviskalnins) September 27, 2016
It’s hard to be mad at Sobotka, as the contract situation put him in an awkward spot. There was little incentive for an NHL return this season, as his buyout situation didn’t provide much relief.
The buyout for Sobotka appears to be 2/3rds of his KHL deal,($4m) so that means he is playing in NHL for basically free. @A_Kalnins
— Darren R Pang (@Panger40) September 27, 2016
The Blues could certainly use Sobotka. With David Backes and Troy Brouwer bolting in free agency, adding a potentially useful depth piece like Sobotka would ease some of the loss. Now, it appears St. Louis will have to wait another year to see Sobotka potentially skate with the Blues.
At what point will the team try and cut their losses?
