With the NHL preseason having gone extinct and the regular season being pushed back from October 11 until at least October 25, I think many of us are wondering what the players have been up to in all this newfound free time.
With no sign of progression between NHLPA and NHL, most of the players have scattered like light. Many even went the route of becoming NHL content creators and some even started their own sports talk podcasts.
The Canadian Press stated that “More than 100 have already found jobs in Europe- roughly 15 per cent of the union’s total membership- and that number is expected to climb now that meaningful games are gone.�?
Now, we cannot fault the boys for keeping up their skills by heading overseas for ice time. I would even venture to argue that those players who do so are more committed to the game than those waiting stateside. There is only so much influence a player have on the CBA discussions by being present, and no one is going to be ready to (hopefully) jump back mid-/beginning of season at peak performance by sitting around with feet out of skates.
One particular player who bolted over to Europe, and who doesn’t seem to have let his game slip one bit, is Evgeni Malkin. Back in his homeland of Russia, Malkin is making news in the Kontinental Hockey League with his unstoppable speed and always impressive stick-handling. Check out this video circulating the hockey world and see what we mean:
Several other big-name NHL’ers have ventured across the pond; including, but definitely not limited to, (in Russia) Alex Radulov, Pavel Datsyuk, Ilya Bryzgalov (all three on the same team!), Alex Ovechkin, Ilya Kovalchuk, (in Germany) Wayne Simmonds, Claude Giroux, Danny Briere, (in Czech Republic) Zdeno Chara, Jaromir Jagr, (in Switzerland) Henrik Zetterberg, Joe Thornton, Rick Nash, John Tavares, Tyler Seguin, (in Belarus) Nicklas Backstrom, and (in Sweden) Gabriel Landeskog.
For a lot of players though, getting to play elsewhere is a bit more challenging due to the cost of insurance, an expense European teams have been picking up for most, but not all, of the NHL players they’ve added. Guys like Sidney Crosby and Henrik Lundqvist have run into issues here.
BleacherReport.com brought up another factor that could become a concern:
“The other thing to consider is the “Russian Factor.” With the Olympics taking place in Sochi, Russia in 2014, Russian NHLer’s might decide to play at home for the duration of this season and possibly into the 2013-14 season.
While it’s extremely unlikely that the lockout would stretch into next season, Russians who want to play in the Olympics might stay there for the next season. That has to be one of the reasons that Washington Capitals prospect Evgeny Kuznetsov decided to sign a two-year deal to stay in Russia.
While the NHL will more than likely have NHL’ers participate in the Olympics, some Russians might not want to take that chance.�?
The boys sticking it out in the U.S. and Canada are attempting to make the most of informal practices and off-ice workouts.
“It’s tough,” hockey poster-boy Sidney Crosby said. “We don’t have a lot of guys here, so we’re trying to make the most of the practices that we can. But it would be nice to have some more numbers, for sure.”
Many of the NHL players are using their extra time to take vacations they otherwise couldn’t and spend quality time with family. In addition, the bored and the bachelors are being constructive by doing charity work.
And if all else fails, the players might just have to begin looking for employment outside of hockey. Let’s hope they don’t start acting in commercials because we’ve all seen a few of those and let’s just say it’s best for everyone they keep their day jobs.
Maybe instead thye players can start taking tips from Kevin Bieksa of the Vancouver Canucks who thinks being a weatherman is a pretty decent backup.
Over 300 of your favorite hockey boys are on Twitter, so if this doesn’t answer your burning “Where are they now…?�? question, perform a little self-help and follow them online. (Cause we know while you’re watching those Russian games you can multitask with some innocent stalking.)
Where the NHL Captains Have Dispersed During the Lockout:
View Where the NHL Captains Have Disbursed During the Lockout in a larger map
