Alexander Radulov turned down an offer to play in the World Championships because he has “a little crack in the knee.” He called the injury minor, but he will probably need surgery.
“It was (all) season,” Radulov said. “It wasn’t bad pain, but I could feel it. It doesn’t bother my game. … It’s all fine.”
Despite Radulov’s claims to the contrary, it’s possible that his injury had a negative impact on his game. However, what his knee injury doesn’t explain is his decision to miss curfew before Nashville’s Game 2 loss in the second round. Radulov was handed a one-game suspension by the team for his rules violation.
Radulov is scheduled to become a restricted free agent this summer. He said he’d like to stay with the Nashville Predators.
Mike Fisher seems to be in favor of re-signing Radulov.
“He loves to play the game. You can see that in practice, his work ethic. He brought it,” Fisher said. “And we need that top offensive guy, and he showed flashes of that when he was here. It’s not always easy adjusting to the ice and I think he took a little bit of time, but he’s got all the tools and potential to be that guy.”