With the 2010-11 NHL season less than five days away, there may not be a more important player to the Philadelphia Flyers than flashy forward Nikolay Zherdev.
Originally drafted with the fourth overall pick in 2003 NHL Entry Draft by Columbus, Zherdev signed a one-year contract worth $2 million with the Flyers after spending last year in Russia.
Last season, Zherdev posted 13 goals, 26 assists, and 39 points in 52 games as a member of Atlant Moscow Oblast of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). He was let go by the New York Rangers following his arbitration case in which he was rewarded $3.9 million by the arbitrator.
Prior to arbitrator's decision, the Rangers had offered their 2008-09 leading scorer $3.25 million. Zherdev was seeking $4.5 million. A difference of $750,000, New York general manager Glen Sather said it was in his team's "best interest" to walk away from Zherdev.
Zherdev has quite the history of being lazy, selfish and flaky off the ice dating back to his days in Columbus.
Before the start of the 2007 season, Zherdev threatened the Blue Jackets not to report to the team if his contract demands were not met. ...
Read Full Article at Bleacher Report - NHL
Article written by Tom Dougherty
2010 Philadelphia Flyers: Nikolay Zherdev Holds The Key To Replacing Simon Gagne
October 2nd, 2010 by Tom Dougherty Leave a reply »
Advertisement