There has been an unusual turn of events in the NHL over the past few weeks.

The birth of the KHL has once again caused confusion amongst the NHL, only now it is not over the debate of a transfer agreement between the two leagues. Three well-known players all started the year in the KHL and then were claimed off waivers when signed by an NHL team. 

It all started when the St. Louis Blues signed free agent forward Marek Svatos. Svatos, a former 30 goal scorer, was claimed by the Nashville Predators off waivers and therefore, Nashville assumes his contract. This left hockey fans everywhere confused, they all wondered why a player must clear waivers if he is signed as a free agent. Well, according to the rules, a player must clear waivers in the NHL after beginning the season in a professional hockey league other than the AHL or the ECHL.

The St. Louis Blues handled this professionally and instead went out and signed free agent forward Kyle Wellwood, who began the season in the KHL. Once again, the Blues claimed off waivers, this time from the San Jose Sharks.

The third, and perhaps most bizarre situation, is happening in Long Island as we speak. Former superstar goalie Evgeni Nabokov, signed a 1 year deal with the Detroit Red Wings after being released from his KHL team for personal reasons. He, like Wellwood and Svatos, was claimed by another NHL team, the New York Islanders. However, the difference here is that Nabokov is reportedly not going to report to the New York Islanders.

The details of what is going on and what can happen to Nabokov are quite complex, but the Islanders are well within their rights to suspend Nabokov, and then he doesn’t get paid and just sits there for the remainder of the season. Should they choose to be bitter that he doesn’t want to play for them, they could appeal to the NHl to toll the contract. Should the NHL approve this, and in all likelihood would, it would push the contract to the following year. Then Nabokov would technically be considered a member of the Islanders and then be eligible to be suspended for the entire season, meaning he could not play hockey for the remainder of this year, and the following full season.

The upcoming days, maybe weeks, will tell what is going to happen here. Given that there is now a league that is more comparable to the NHL skill level, and is an alternative to players that have difficulty getting an NHL contract on opening day, should the NHL implement a new rule regarding clearing waivers for starting the year in another professional league? Or does this add “spice” to the mix and make things more interesting? Leave your feedback.

Jordon Judge

HockeyGods