If there’s one word I would use to describe Nikolay Zherdev’s NHL career, it would be “messy.” It started out that way with the Columbus Blue Jackets, a frustrating chapter he seemed to acknowledge by going by “Nikolay” instead of “Nikolai” once he returned to the league with the Philadelphia Flyers. (Then again, that seems like a common practice for Russian hockey players, so perhaps I’m reading too much into that.)
Either way, Zherdev has traveled a bumpy road in his still-young hockey career. The latest bit of (rather confusing) news probably won’t help the soon-to-be unrestricted free agent much at the bargaining table, either.
There seem to be two conflicting reports about an incident that allegedly happened between Zherdev and his wife. I’ll lay them both out for you, to try to keep everything as clear as possible. Keep in mind that there’s plenty of hearsay and guesswork going on here, so take these reports with a grain of salt. (That being said, the Flyers did acknowledge that they’re aware of the conflicting reports, for whatever that’s worth.)
Report 1: The initial reports indicated a rather over-the-top scene. According to Russian newspaper Moskovsky Komsomolets, Zherdev got into a verbal argument with his wife during breakfast at the restaurant Osteria di campagnia. He followed his wife to her car, trying to open unlocked doors. His wife tried to drive away, but he allegedly caught up to the automobile and “wailed on her car” with a metal rod. (H/T to Philly Sports Daily.)
(There are two things I think of when picturing that scene: Wolter Sobchak beating up the wrong sports car in “The Big Lebowski” and Tiger Woods’ ex-wife [allegedly] going after his SUV in that infamous incident.)
Crossing Broad discussed a translated account that indicated that Zherdev might have uttered some death threats, but it’s not safe to assume that happened without some kind of official confirmation.
Report 2: Puck Daddy’s Dmitry Chesnokov did a little extra digging and found a conflicting report from the restaurant’s manager in Sovietsky Sport.Travis Hughes of Broad Street Hockey thinks out loud a bit about what might explain the restaurant manager’s conflicting report.
Just going over the details in my mind, the original report said that Zherdev’s wife left the restaurant and then went to her car and drove away. When she got to a nearby street light (or stuck in traffic) and had to stop, Zherdev then attacked her car with a metal pole.
The blow-up happened down the street then, right? Or, even if it happened right out front, and the restaurant is on the second floor like the guy says, his personnel easily could’ve missed the scene downstairs on the street, right?
Obviously, I’ve never been to this restaurant or this street so I’m just trying to think logically. And maybe this restaurant owner doesn’t want this thing staining his establishment. Who knows what the motives are in both directions. I’m just thinking out loud here.
It might take time to find out what really happened - if we ever do - but as many pointed out, it’s unlikely that Zherdev will be a member of the Philadelphia Flyers again. Then again, perhaps this was just the last straw. As talented as he is (the Blue Jackets made him the fourth overall pick of the 2003 NHL Entry Draft), the Flyers frequently made him a healthy scratch during the regular season.
His offensive talent is tough to deny, but he can be a defensive liability who also inspires questions about his attitude. We’ll let you know if more details emerge, but we might not see Zherdev in the NHL again for quite some time.