Last month, we passed along word that veteran NHLer Nikolai Antropov was mulling a comeback.
Now, he’s made it’s official.
“I have a year or two in me for sure,” Antropov told the Toronto Sun this week, while attending the BioSteel camp. “We’re talking to a couple of teams, who I won’t name. My experience is huge.”
Back in late July, Antropov’s agent, Shumi Babaev, said his client was mulling a NHL comeback rather than re-sign with KHL club Barys Astana.
The 35-year-old scored 21 points in 39 games last year for Barys, his second season with the team.
If a team ultimately gives Antropov a look, presumably by way of a training camp PTO, he’ll be an intriguing figure to watch. He’s still 6-foot-6 and 240 pounds, with nearly 800 games of NHL experience. What’s more, his last full year with the Jets in ’11-12 was pretty decent — 15 goals and 35 points in 69 games. (Antro had 18 points in 40 games during the lockout-shortened ’13 campaign.)
All that said, he’s well on the wrong side of 30 and wasn’t the quickest skater prior to leaving for Russia.
“I know the game has gotten a lot faster, which is why I’m at this camp,” he explained. “We’ll see where I end up.”