When Alexander Radulov decided to rejoin the Nashville Predators in March, the question was if he would be willing to stay on beyond the 2011-12 campaign. Now, after his defensive struggles in the playoffs and missing curfew before Game 2 of the second round, the question is if the Predators even want him back.
“He knows he has to change in a lot of aspects, on ice, off ice, the way he trains, all those types of things,” Predators Coach Barry Trotz said. “We had a long conversation on that. He seems to be very committed to that now.”
As we reported earlier, Radulov was playing with “a little crack in the knee” that will probably require surgery, so that could explain some of his shortcomings on the ice.
Radulov is only a restricted free agent, but there’s no guarantee that he’ll end up playing for Nashville next season. He’s just one of the many big story lines this franchise has going into the summer.