Losing a star in the offseason is tough for any team at any level, but losing multiple stars is far worse. That is the unfortunate predicament that KHL club CSKA Moscow is being faced with. While not every loss has been officially confirmed, all signs and sources point to the team losing multiple stars and other roster players this offseason.
CSKA Moscow is known for its success in developing some young NHL affiliated players which tends to lead to their eventual departure to the NHL at some point. It appears that multiple young NHL prospects currently playing for Moscow are set to join the NHL next season. As of now, there are three big names that appear to be readying to join the NHL clubs that drafted them for the upcoming season.
Team leading scorer and former KHL MVP Kirill Kaprisov, former KHL Playoff MVP and star goaltender Ilya Sorokin and 2019 World Juniors top-defensemen Alexander Romanov are all expected to make their way to North America next season, leaving a massive void for the team to fill.
Kaprizov has established himself as one of the league’s top players since joining the league in 2014. Kaprizov was selected to the KHL All-Star game for five consecutive seasons and has been the top goalscorer in the league for the past two seasons. Over the course of his career, the 22-year-old winger has scored 113 goals and 117 assists for 230 points.
He’s done so in 293 games since joining the league as a teenage sensation. It is oftentimes tough for young players to find success in the KHL so early, however, Kaprizov quickly became one of the league’s top players and will surely be missed. The former Wild fifth-round pick has yet to officially sign with Minnesota, however, that is soon expected to change.
There have been rumours over the past few years that Kaprizov would not sign on with the Wild, however, the new management group in Minnesota has made bringing him to the NHL a top priority and seems to have convinced him of his importance to the Wild’s long-term future.
One of the biggest attributes contributing to CSKA Moscow’s success has been the talent of Ilya Sorokin. Sorokin has been widely considered to be one of the best non-NHL goaltenders and as seen on an extensive scouting scale, is one of the best drafted NHL prospects. His rights are held by the New York Islanders who have had trouble bringing him over to Long Island.
Sorokin finally decided not to sign a KHL contract extension and is ready to make his way to the NHL. Sorokin has had an illustrious career in Russia as arguably the league’s top goaltenders over the past five seasons. During his tenure in the KHL, Sorokin has never put up lower than a .929 SV% and anything higher than a 1.61 GAA.
He has led the league in shutouts for the past two seasons and has been elite in the playoffs year after year. He was named as the playoff MVP during his Gagarin Cup-winning campaign and has the lowest single-season GAA in KHL playoff history and the fourth lowest SV%. This is while playing more games than any other goaltender listed above him. CSKA Moscow is losing an elite goaltender in Ilya Sorokin, but the New York Islanders are gaining a Vezina calibre talent.
While not as crucial to the team’s success as Kaprizov or Sorokin, defensemen Alexander Romanov will still be missed on the blue-line for Moscow. Romanov is a young, promising defensemen drafted by the Montreal Canadiens in the second round of the 2018 NHL Entry Draft. Despite not having been a regular member of Moscow’s top defensive pairings, Romanov, 20-years-old, was a sturdy, reliable presence on the blue-line.
While never making a large impact on the scoresheet, Romanov was a solid defensive presence, able to step up in big situations and play against elite talent much older them himself. Despite not being the biggest player on the ice, Romanov was a big physical presence when on the ice and is able to take down players much bigger than him. He made the team as a teenager which is a rare feat on a skilled team with a crowded blue-line. However, Romanov made an impact right away and became a core player on their roster.
During his two seasons in the KHL, Romanov did not earn regular top-four minutes, however, this was for a variety of reasons, including speculation that he was expected to join the NHL next season, meaning that the team had little reason to reward him with big minutes. Overall, Romanov may not have been the most important player due to his somewhat limited role With CSKA Moscow, however, he was one of the team’s best growing talents and surely had a big future as a top-pairing defensemen in Moscow if he had shown his desire to stay in the league full-time.
Kaprizov, Sorokin and Romanov may not be the only players that may have played their last games in CSKA Moscow jerseys. The team features multiple former NHL players that could be on the verge of moving back to North America after strong outing in Russia. Anton Slepyshev reportedly had received strong interest to return back to the NHL by the Edmonton Oilers, however, he rejected the offers and re-signed with CSKA.
In addition, Konstantin Okulov followed in his teammate’s footsteps and resigned with Moscow. While Slepyshev and Okulov appear to be staying put, the same cannot be said for all of his teammates. The Leafs have also had conversations with Moscow’s other pending free agents Mikhail Grigorenko and Nikita Nesterov earlier this year and there is expected to be more interest coming their way.
There are multiple other pending free agents on CSKA Moscow’s roster that could find themselves receiving NHL interest. Linden Vey is one name who is expected to receive some NHL offers as well. While CSKA Moscow has had some big roster losses so far, they will have their chance to sign NHL players who wish to come over to Russia for more playing time.
As well, those being players who have fallen out of favour in the National Hockey League. They will need to pull out all the stops in order to help repair the major hole in their lineup that seems to be getting much bigger each day.