Dec. 25: It hasn’t taken long for Fazleev to find a new team. The KHL announced that he has signed a contract with Ak Bars Kazan for the remainder of the season.
Dec. 21: Friedman reports that Fazleev has cleared waivers.
Dec. 20: Along with Patrik Berglund of the Buffalo Sabres, another player is gracing unconditional waivers today. According to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet, Philadelphia Flyers prospect Radel Fazleev will see his contract terminated provided he clears waivers as expected. The 22-year old forward is in the final year of his three-year entry-level deal signed in 2015, and has just two points in 15 games for the Lehigh Valley Phantoms this season.
Fazleev was a sixth-round selection in 2014 out of the WHL, where he had put up good numbers in his first year of junior hockey. Those numbers continued to grow as he developed with the Calgary Hitmen, eventually leading to a 71-point season in 2015-16 and a silver medal at the World Juniors. Unfortunately, that kind of playmaking talent wasn’t carried over to the minor leagues and Fazleev has struggled in the minor leagues with Lehigh Valley.
As CapFriendly pointed out today, situations like this are almost always due to a player failing to report or leaving the club. There have been plenty of examples of contract terminations this year, and Fazleev will likely join the majority of them in finding a new job overseas. The Russian forward could very well be headed to the KHL to try his luck.
Patrik Berglund will be a major loss to the Sabres and their fan base. What a loss
Do ya get the feeling that Bergie thought there was a Do-Over button he just hit to un-trade himself?
Yeah. Yeah, that’s it. Sabres fans are already in dispair about the lost angst over what could have been; three and a half more years of a regularly scratched fourth liner decimating the team’s salary cap. After all, Sabres fans have grown to love abject suckitude after all these years.
But, in the spirit of the season, we’ve decided to celebrate.