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Nikita Tryamkin

Nikita Tryamkin Signs Two-Year Contract Extension In KHL

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In February, we covered word from former Vancouver Canucks defenseman Nikita Tryamkin’s agent that the hulking six-foot-eight blueliner would be receiving “tremendous interest” from NHL clubs this summer. Moreover, Tryamkin’s agent stated that his client had rejected a contract extension offer from his KHL club and after the season would shift his focus towards making a return to the NHL.

Now, it seems that won’t be happening, and that Tryamkin won’t make his NHL return until he’s 31 years old, if at all. Announced officially by the club, Tryamkin has signed a two-year contract extension with his longtime KHL employer, Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg.

This news comes as a bit of a surprise, as since leaving the NHL Tryamkin has been a two-time KHL All-Star and one of the better defensemen in that league.

The soon-to-be 29-year-old offers extremely rare size at the position, and if he made the NHL he would instantly become one of the tallest players in the league.

Tryamkin regularly logs heavy minutes for Yekaterinburg, and while his offensive game has never been quite as high of a focus he has chipped in 110 career points in 507 KHL games. His physicality and defensive upside thanks to his size and reach have always been his calling card.

The success of the Vegas Golden Knights as well as some trends at the NHL draft suggested teams are placing increased value on blueliners with size, so it’s somewhat surprising that Tryamkin couldn’t find a sufficient NHL offer to motivate him to cross the Atlantic.

With the current state of NHL/KHL relations and the haze of general uncertainty that surrounds the availability of many Russian players, perhaps there’s more to this at play than has been currently reported. Or, it could also be as simple as NHL teams not believing Tryamkin has progressed enough since his time with Vancouver to be worth signing to a significant enough offer to convince Tryamkin to change leagues.

In any case, while some fans were hoping Tryamkin would make his return to the NHL, it appears that his return will now have to wait another two seasons if it’s going to happen at all.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Latest On Nikita Tryamkin

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Former Vancouver Canuck Nikita Tryamkin hasn’t played in North America since the 2016-17 season, but he could be nearing a return. CHEK TV’s Rick Dhaliwal quoted Tryamkin’s agent, Todd Diamond, as making the following statement regarding his client.

There will be tremendous demand for Nikita. Nikita has turned down a contract extension from his KHL Club. He is currently focused on the KHL season, then we will turn our focus to the NHL.

Tryamkin is in his sixth KHL season since signing there from Vancouver, and is a former Canucks third-round pick who ended up playing a total of 79 games for the club.

It’s not difficult to understand why Diamond is so optimistic about the interest his client will have in the offseason. While Tryamkin’s time in the NHL was hardly a smooth ride, there is some precedent for a talented Russian player to have an uneven first go-around in the NHL, move to the KHL, and then return as a more experienced, mature, capable difference-maker.

The Montreal Canadiens took a chance on a player of that mold, Alexander Radulov, in the summer of 2016 and the choice paid off for them in spades, with Radulov moving on to Dallas where he would score 72 points in back-to-back seasons.

In Tryamkin’s case, much of the intrigue surrounding his return to the NHL centers around one number: 202.

That’s how many centimeters tall Tryamkin is, and as his six-foot-eight, 258-pound defenseman he would be among the biggest in the entire NHL.

While teams are more and more willing to take chances on smaller defensemen, there is still a prevailing attitude among NHL decision-makers that size is a valuable component of a defenseman’s overall value.

If a team wants to add some muscle to their blueline, Tryamkin will be an intriguing option. The tallest defenseman set to be on the open market this summer is Chicago Blackhawks blueliner Jarred Tinordi, who stands at six-foot-six. Carson Soucy, Ryan Graves, and Scott Mayfield all stand six-foot-five, meaning the market does have some options for teams who want to beef up their back end. None of those options are quite as big as Tryamkin, and that could be what sets him apart on the market as he attempts his return to the NHL.

Being big is not the only thing that a defenseman has to do to be successful in the NHL, though, otherwise Tinordi wouldn’t have been available to the Blackhawks on waivers earlier this season. A major element of being successful defensively is an ability to exit the defensive zone, and that can be something slower-footed physical defensemen can struggle with.

Something that will certainly help Tryamkin, then, is the fact that he is a surprisingly good skater for someone his size. His skating doesn’t translate to a high offensive impact, and his points production in the KHL is rather meager. But characterizing Tryamkin as simply a big, slow, throwback stay-at-home blueliner would be shortsighted.

Diamond noted, Tryamkin has rejected a contract offer from his KHL team and has his sights firmly fixed on a return to the NHL for next fall. Whereas Vancouver once held the exclusive rights to sign Tryamkin, he is now free from that restriction and able to sign with any NHL team he chooses.

It’s possible that Tryamkin has the sort of lengthy courting process Andrei Kuzmenko had last year. But important to note is the fact that Kuzmenko was restricted to signing an entry-level deal, while Tryamkin’s NHL experience allows him more options for what contract to sign. Since the financial restrictions placed on Kuzmenko’s contract made his choice more about fit and location than cost, the lengthy process including visits to multiple markets made sense.

Since Tryamkin doesn’t have those restrictions, he may not view such a process as necessary and could end up entering the market and operating as any other conventional free agent would.

Since it’s still relatively unknown how Tryamkin will fare in his return to the NHL, it seems likely that he’d prefer to sign the sort of contract Radulov received from the Canadiens, which is a short-term deal that maximizes his opportunity to land a lucrative deal the following summer, while also minimizing the risk of the investment for the team he signs with.

The upcoming free agent market seems at the moment filled with some talented blueliners for NHL teams to choose from. While Tryamkin, a three-time KHL All-Star, is far from the safest investment of the bunch, he could be one of the more intriguing options available.

Pictures Courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Nikita Tryamkin Signs Two-Year Extension To Stay In KHL

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Ever since 6-foot-7, 253-pound defenseman Nikita Tryamkin left the Vancouver Canucks back in 2017, they have been working to bring him back. There was plenty of optimism recently that the Canucks were close to convincing the blueliner to return to the team. Instead, it looks like Tryamkin’s chances of returning to Vancouver could be over after the KHL announced he signed a two-year extension with Yekaterinburg Automobilist. To make matters worse, Tryamkin’s rights with Vancouver will expire in two years, meaning he will be an unrestricted free agent in 2023-24.

The two sides did attempt to work out a deal recently, but were not able to work out a deal, according to Canucks reporter Rick Dhaliwal.

“I told the Canucks what it would take on both a 1 or 2 year term and they told me what they could guarantee today and the gap was just too wide for Nikita,” said Tryamkin’s agent, Todd Diamond. “Nikita didn’t want to wait and be in a situation like last summer where the team didn’t act and the KHL Club had nearly exhausted its budget.”

Diamond, revealed earlier this year that he believes Tryamkin was ready to take another chance in the NHL after struggling in his two years with the team years ago. The 26-year-old has developed into a solid two-way defenseman and could have had a major impact on the Canucks defense next year had they been able to come to terms. The blueliner was already known as a good skater considering his size, but only averaged 16:52 of ice time with Vancouver between 2015-17. He has excelled with Automobilist, scoring 17 goals and 63 points over four seasons there.

Morning Notes: Women’s Worlds, Seattle, Tryamkin

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The IIHF Women’s World Championship will be canceled for the second year in a row, according to Sportsnet’s Jeff Marek. The event was scheduled to take place in Halifax next month, but is now being shelved because of the ongoing COVID-19 situation in Canada. It’s difficult to keep seeing international events go down, but this one was especially important as teams from around the world prepared for the 2022 Olympics. They now will have to go another year without facing each other in the top annual tournament.

Update: The tournament in Halifax has been officially canceled, but the IIHF notes that “this does not mean that we will not have a Women’s World Championship in 2021.” Hockey Canada and the international organization will attempt to find another host city in the coming months.

More from around the hockey world:

  • The Seattle Kraken don’t have official standing in the league just yet so can’t make any signings or complete trades, but that doesn’t mean they haven’t been in touch with teams around the league. Pierre LeBrun and Ryan S. Clark of The Athletic examine six situations that could be ripe for an expansion draft deal, including one in Tampa Bay where the Lightning already have more salary committed to next season than they’re allowed to under the cap. Bolts’ GM Julien BriseBois will need to move out some contracts this summer and who better than the expansion Kraken to take a performing-but-overpaid forward off their hands.
  • The Vancouver Canucks are a great story to watch down the stretch as they try to make a postseason run following their huge COVID outbreak, but the front office will have to be a little more forward-looking in the days to come. One of those future moves could be bringing back Nikita Tryamkin, as Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet writes that the club will engage with the hulking defenseman in the next few days. Tryamkin has spent the last four seasons in the KHL where he has continued to develop into a legitimate two-way force, using his 6’7″ frame effectively all over the ice. The Russian defenseman’s agent Todd Diamond was on Donnie and Dhali just this week, saying he believes his client is ready for an NHL return.

Snapshots: Ullmark, Tryamkin, Thornton

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The Buffalo Sabres have been taking the ice without Linus Ullmark for the last two games and this morning the goaltender explained why. After Monday’s morning skate, Ullmark received news that his father had passed away in Sweden. Carter Hutton took the net that evening, but captain Jack Eichel awarded Ullmark with the game puck after a 6-1 victory. He expressed his gratitude towards the whole organization for how they’ve come to his support in the days since.

Ullmark plans on traveling with the team to Washington and could be available for Friday’s game against the Capitals. Hutton meanwhile will not be on the trip as he deals with an injury and is listed as day-to-day.

  • The Vancouver Canucks have a very interesting relationship with Russian defenseman Nikita Tryamkin, who is still playing in the KHL despite a long negotiation last year. The 26-year-old defender is still technically a restricted free agent and can only sign with the Canucks if he chooses to return to the NHL. Now, Rick Dhaliwal of TSN gives an update on the situation and spoke with Yekaterinburg executive Maxim Ryabkov, who expressed how much Tryamkin has improved in the last year, even calling him “one of the best defensemen in the KHL.” The 6’7″ behemoth pairs incredible size with excellent skating ability to shut down rushes and move the puck quickly. If he is not signed this offseason, Tryamkin can actually become an unrestricted free agent after the 2021-22 season.
  • The Toronto Maple Leafs had the blender out at practice today following a loss to the Edmonton Oilers that included Joe Thornton’s early exit with an injury. Thornton will undergo further testing to determine the extent of the injury but is expected to miss some time. Interestingly, Auston Matthews also left practice just before it began, though all head coach Sheldon Keefe told reporters including Kristen Shilton of TSN that the star center “wasn’t feeling great.” Adam Brooks, Pierre Engvall, and Alexander Barabanov were all skating with the main group as the Maple Leafs try to figure out their lines moving forward.

Nikita Tryamkin Re-Signs In KHL

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The idea that Nikita Tryamkin could come back to North America for the 2020-21 season has been scrapped, with the big Russian defender signing a new one-year contract with Yekaterinburg of the KHL. Tryamkin had been in contact with the Canucks about a return, but according to Thomas Drance of The Athletic felt there was “too much risk” in waiting given he hasn’t played since February.

Tryamkin will turn 26 at the end of August and is now three years removed from playing in the NHL. He left in 2017 after 79 relatively unsuccessful games with the Canucks and has played for his hometown team in the interim. There was still hope from fans and the Canucks front office that he would one day return and take up residence on the team’s blueline once again, but that hope does seem to be slipping away at this point.

While the Canucks will be able to retain his rights until next summer, Tryamkin will become an unrestricted free agent on his 27th birthday—August 30, 2021. That doesn’t leave a huge window of negotiation given the 2020-21 season will likely end later than normal, and could mean the end of any potential return.

West Notes: Byram, Tryamkin, Kaprizov, Henderson

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Avalanche prospect Bowen Byram has yet to make his NHL debut but he will be on their postseason roster, reports Postmedia’s Steve Ewen.   The 19-year old is coming off of another strong season with Vancouver of the WHL that saw him record 52 points in 50 games while also playing a regular role on Canada’s entry in the World Juniors.  The fourth selection back in 2019 likely won’t contend for a spot in the lineup but if he does get in to due injuries, he will be subject to the nine-game limit without burning the first year of his entry-level contract.

More from the West:

  • Todd Diamond, agent for Canucks RFA defenseman Nikita Tryamkin, indicated an in an appearance on TSN 1040 (audio link) that he expects to get a deal done for his client to return to Vancouver for the 2020-21 season. He also added that there have been no discussions about the team trading Tryamkin’s rights.  The 25-year-old has spent the past three seasons with Yekaterinburg of the KHL after playing a limited role with Vancouver beforehand.  However, with their salary cap situation starting to look murky, the team doesn’t have a ton of flexibility to offer him a contract with a big raise on the $925K he received on his entry-level deal back in 2015-16 and 2016-17.
  • In an appearance on KFAN 100.3 (audio link), Wild GM Bill Guerin told The Athletic’s Michael Russo that “things are going in the right direction” when it comes to winger Kirill Kaprizov. Earlier this week, it was reported that teams would not be permitted to sign players that could then play in the upcoming play-in round, even if they were on their Reserve List; in normal seasons, that would be allowed.  When asked if the team would consider signing Kaprizov and burning the first year of his entry-level deal without playing, Guerin indicated he was open to the possibility along with any other options that come up.  Technically, the deadline to sign Kaprizov to a 2019-20 deal expired on Wednesday after being previously extended by a month; Guerin’s answer hints that another extension may have quietly occurred.
  • A petition to attempt to get the previously-approved funding for a new AHL facility in Henderson, Nevada onto the ballot for their November election has been overturned by City Council for a procedural error, notes Shea Johnson of the Las Vegas Review-Journal. The arena, which is slated to be ready in 2022, involves $42MM in public spending which was the reason for the petition.

KHL Notes: Yakupov, Tolchinsky, Tryamkin

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While the NHL sits in a holding pattern while they decide what to do with the rest of the season, the draft and the playoffs, the KHL is moving along with their offseason. May is the major signing period for the Russian league and several interesting players have already moved around.

Today, a name very familiar to NHL fans was on the move. Nail Yakupov was traded away by SKA St. Petersburg in exchange for Pavel Koltygin, a sixth-round pick of the Nashville Predators, and the rights for Philadelphia Flyers prospect German Rubtsov. Yakupov scored ten goals and 20 points in 46 games for SKA this season.

  • Four NHL games may be all that ever happen for former Carolina Hurricanes forward Sergey Tolchinsky. The 25-year old has signed a new two-year deal with Avangard, leaving CSKA Moscow after two seasons. The undersized forward was a strong offensive player in both the OHL and AHL, but failed to make an impact in his short time in Carolina.
  • That may not be the case for Nikita Tryamkin, who could be returning to the Vancouver Canucks next season. There is a delay in any contract announcement however because of the current league situation and Rick Dhaliwal of TSN reports that the uncertain salary cap situation could complicate things for the Canucks. Dhaliwal suggests that this waiting game could test Tryamkin’s patience, given that KHL training camps are scheduled to open in July. The giant defender played 79 games with the Canucks between 2015-2017 before returning to Russia for the last three seasons.

Evening Notes: Rossi, Flyers, Tryamkin, Oilers

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Marco Rossi won’t have to wait very long to hear his name called once things get underway at the 2020 NHL Draft.  The center led the OHL in scoring this season with 120 points in 56 games which is quite impressive for anyone, let alone a draft-eligible player.  If he doesn’t stick with whichever NHL team drafts him though, don’t expect him to return to junior hockey.  He told Jean-Francois Plante of Le Droit that if he isn’t in the NHL, his plan is to go back overseas and play in a professional league instead; 67’s head coach Andre Tourigny told Plante that the team wouldn’t block him from trying to do so.  The Austrian came up through the ranks in Switzerland before joining OHL Ottawa and could opt to play there once again.

Elsewhere around the hockey world:

  • While some teams are using this layoff to get a head start on contract discussions, that doesn’t appear to be the case in Philadelphia. Flyers GM Chuck Fletcher told Jordan Hall of NBC Sports Philadelphia that he hasn’t started any talks about a new deal with any of their pending free agents.  Among the notable unrestricted free agents on their roster are goalie Brian Elliott, defenseman Justin Braun, and center Derek Grant while forwards Oskar Lindblom and Nolan Patrick, who have had their seasons cut short to respective health concerns, headline their list of restricted free agents.
  • With the KHL season now over, talks between the Canucks and defenseman Nikita Tryamkin have picked up, reports Postmedia’s Ben Kuzma. The 25-year-old spent parts of two seasons in Vancouver before returning to Russia for the last three seasons.  However, Tryamkin is looking to return to Vancouver for the 2020-21 campaign but his agent Todd Diamond acknowledged that the uncertainty surrounding next year’s salary cap is also likely to play a role in any contract talks.
  • If play resumes, the Oilers should have a pair of players back in their lineup. Head coach Dave Tippett told reporters, including Daniel Nugent-Bowman of The Athletic (Twitter link) that defenseman Mike Green (knee) and winger Joakim Nygard (upper body) have both recovered from their respective injuries and will be ready to go whenever the puck drops.  Green was one of Edmonton’s trade deadline additions but played in just two games before getting hurt while the speedy Nygard has nine points in 33 games in his rookie campaign.

Snapshots: Williams, Tryamkin, Sorenson, Luukkonen

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The Carolina Hurricanes are close to getting their former captain back as Justin Williams is expected to return to the ice on Sunday against the New York Islanders, according to News & Observer’s Chip Alexander. While head coach Rod Brind’Amour did state that Williams will go through pre-game warmups before he made a decision on whether to play Williams, the scribe writes that everyone, including Brind’Amour believes that Williams will make his debut on Sunday.

“I’m nervous before every game I play so I’m going to have nerves,” Williams said. “But the one thing you never question is your ability and that’s one thing I’m never going to question. I’m going to go out there and work my tail off and let my instincts take over.”

The 38-year-old Williams signed a one-year deal 11 days ago and has been working with the team trying to get into game shape. Williams is coming off a solid season in which he scored 23 goals and 53 points last season and likely will take a bottom-six role to start.

  • The Vancouver Canucks still remain hopeful they can bring back defenseman Nikita Tryamkin, who left the team three years ago after his dissatisfaction with his playing time and refusal to play in the AHL. The Canucks have hoped to bring back the 6-foot-7, 265-pound blueliner back after several successful seasons in the KHL. The 25-year-old might be open to coming back, according to his agent, Todd Diamond (via TSN’s Rick Dhaliwal. “It’s very much on the table, the goal and desire is to sign in Vancouver, that’s what we have had discussions about,” said Diamond. “I don’t want to disrupt his season. There is plenty of time to talk when his season is over.”
  • San Jose Sharks head coach Bob Boughner changed up the lines of his team, which also included listing forward Marcus Sorensen as a healthy scratch. Boughner used the word “message” when addressing the media, according to The Athletic’s Kevin Kurz, suggesting he needs more “relentlessness” and for him to play “more on the inside.” After a 17-goal campaign, the 27-year-old is struggling this season with just five goals and has just one point in the last 19 games.
  • Buffalo Sabres goaltending prospect Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made his season debut in the AHL Saturday, stopping 24 of 27 shots in the Rochester American’s 4-3 shootout loss to the Cleveland Monsters. The Buffalo News’ Bill Hoppe writes that the plan has been to allow Luukkonen to stay with the team for a week before they return the top prospect to the ECHL, where he will play in their all-star game. The team may give him one more start before sending him back.

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