The Colorado Avalanche are waiting for KHL free agent Alex Radulov, according to fellow Russian Semyon Varlamov.
Slava Malamud translated a Sports Express story, which reported Varlamov spoke on Friday that Colorado is waiting for Radulov to make a phone call.
“[The Avalanche are] waiting for Radulov. He’ll be one of the leaders there,” Varlamov said in a media scrum. “All [Radulov] needs to do is dial Patrick [Roy] and his return will happen. I hope we can win the Cup with him.”
Aivis Kalnins of One Puck Short further reported he hears the Avalanche have “moved up in the Radulov favorites list.”
Radulov is one of the most intriguing free agents in recent memory. He’s been a phenomenal point producer in the KHL, averaging at least a point per game in seven straight seasons. The 29-year-old scored 65 points in 53 games with CSKA Moscow in 2015-16. Unfortunately for Radulov, he’s been an enigma during his short NHL career. Despite putting up a healthy 102 points in 154 games with the Predators, Radulov was suspended for violating team rules during the 2011-2012 playoffs. Radulov has long been rumored to have attitude issues and be poison in the locker room, which might have dampened his NHL stock. Those reports could be true, they may not be. Regardless, he’s an elite KHL scorer who’s shown he can produce at the NHL level.
Colorado is a surprisingly good fit for Radulov. The right winger played under Avs head coach Patrick Roy in the mid-2000’s for the Quebec Remparts of the QMJHL. Yuri Nikolaev of Championat reported last year Roy had interest in bringing Radulov to Colorado. The two have a repertoire together and perhaps the two outspoken personalities can gel together. Reported attitude issues aside, Radulov would give Colorado another good top-six forward – all teams could use his skill on their roster.
The big question with Radulov is how much money would he want? The Avalanche have a little bit of cap space to play with, but they’ve got issues to address. They still have to lock up restricted free agents Nathan MacKinnon, Mikhail Grigorenko and Tyson Barrie. That won’t come cheap. The team has room to make it work, but a big deal will make things tight unless a trade allocates more spending money. Radulov won’t come cheap, so if the Avs are expecting a one-year make-good contract, they can look elsewhere. If he’s serious about returning to the NHL, he’ll command a long-term deal worth a decent penny.
The question also remains, would the Avalanche spend serious money on Radulov when there are other gaping needs on the roster?
Colorado’s top-six isn’t a big issue, as they have a talented young(ish) core of MacKinnon, Matt Duchene, and Gabriel Landeskog. The group could definitely use an upgrade on the wing, but Colorado’s biggest need is on defense. Patrick Roy’s d-core was a tire fire in 2015-16 and isn’t going to magically improve (especially under Roy’s poor coaching). The Avalanche should be throwing money at free agent defenseman, like Keith Yandle or Alex Goligoski, not necessarily Radulov if it’s going to tie up considerable cap space.
Colorado would be taking a considerable gamble on Radulov. He’s a talented, dynamic player, but he comes with many question marks. Colorado would be a great fit for Radulov, but Radulov might not necessarily be a great fit in Colorado.
