Avangard Omsk

Report: Theodore signs one-year deal in KHL

By Joe YerdonSep 27, 2013, 3:50 PM EDT

It turns out Jose Theodore may not have had as much NHL interest as he was hoping.

Igor Eronko of sport.ru in Russia reports Theodore has signed a one-year deal with Avangard Omsk of the KHL.

There was a report just a couple days ago he had an offer from them, but those were shot down and countered with another report saying he had interest from as many as three NHL teams.

After having his season ended early with the Panthers last season, Theodore was hoping to bounce back as a backup somewhere this season. Ideally he wanted to stay with Florida but that didn’t happen.

Heading to the KHL to continue his career isn’t a bad move for the 2002 Hart Trophy winner at this point just so long as those NHL teams he was reportedly talking with weren’t that interested.

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Sergei Kostitsyn signs lockout deal with Avangard Omsk

By Joe YerdonOct 7, 2012, 12:07 PM EDT

It’s not too much of a surprise, but Predators forward Sergei Kostitsyn is off to the KHL during the lockout.

Yahoo! Sports’ Dmitry Chesnokov reports Kostitsyn has signed on with Avangard Omsk while the work stoppage trudges onward. There he’ll join Columbus defenseman Nikita Nikitin as well as former NHL players like Alexander Frolov, Martin Skoula, and Karri Ramo.

Interestingly enough, Sergei isn’t joining the same team as his brother Andrei Kostitsyn who signed with Traktor Chelyabinsk after seemingly partying his way out of Nashville and the NHL.

Sergei sparked his career with the Predators after three lackluster seasons in Montreal. Two seasons ago he scored 23 goals and finished with 50 points and had 17-26-43 last year.

Andrew Ladd has a really good reason to ditch out on playing in Russia

By Joe YerdonOct 5, 2012, 1:50 PM EDT

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Jets captain Andrew Ladd was all set to sign a deal with Avangard Omsk in the KHL to play there during the lockout. A funny thing happened along the way to the tarmac: Ladd’s wife found out she was pregnant with their first child.

As Ed Tait of the Winnipeg Free Press heard it from Ladd, it was a sudden turn of events that made him want to stay at home during the lockout.

“But the more we thought about it, the more I decided to change my mind,” Ladd said. “My wife is pregnant and I couldn’t really justify leaving her by herself. The more I thought about it, the more I thought I didn’t want to leave.”

That should make women everywhere swoon just a little bit. Ladd said he was tempted to go play in Russia for a short time and be back either by the time things were settled or before his wife was due, but said he didn’t want to miss out on anything.

I think we found the early leader for Winnipeg’s “husband of the year” award.

Penguins make official contract offer to Jaromir Jagr

By Joe YerdonJun 28, 2011, 8:20 PM EDT

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The race to bring Jaromir Jagr back to the NHL after being away from the league for the past three seasons has officially reached a fever pitch. With both the Detroit Red Wings and Pittsburgh Penguins expressing the most interest in the 39 year-old future Hall of Famer the competition to see who can land him is apparently fierce and now his former team in Pittsburgh has made the first move.

Dave Molinari of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports tonight that the Penguins have made a one-year offer to Jagr to bring him back to Pittsburgh for the first time since the end of the 2000-2001 season.

Penguins general manager Ray Shero confirmed this evening that he has offered free agent right winger Jaromir Jagr a one-year contract — he declined to divulge the financial aspects of the proposal — and said he expect to learn Wednesday whether Jagr will accept it.

“We feel from the information we have and after seeing at world championships, that he’s a guy who might be able to help us this coming season,” Shero said. “We feel he’s a guy who could help us this year, and retire as a Penguin.”

Shero setting things up to be decided tomorrow helps him and the Penguins better prepare for what will be a busy, but lackluster free agent kick off party on Friday afternoon. If Jagr’s interests lie elsewhere be it in Detroit or somewhere else, then the Penguins can get over the hysteria that’s gripped Pittsburgh wondering if the legendary winger who helped the Penguins to two Stanley Cups in the early 90s will return or not.

The worth of the offer is unknown for now but Pittsburgh Tribune-Review’s Rob Rossi reports that the offer could be around $2 million for the season. That might sound a bit high for a guy who’s been out of the NHL for three seasons and is 39 years-old, but if used properly and accompanied by the right linemates Jagr could be very productive. With guys like Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin in Pittsburgh or Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg in Detroit, Jagr would be right at home with some of the best players in the NHL.

It’s unknown when or if Detroit’s GM Ken Holland will jump into the fray, but for now and through tomorrow, Jagrwatch is on big time in Pittsburgh.

Jaromir Jagr’s agent courting NHL teams; Another negotiating ploy with KHL?

By Joe YerdonJun 16, 2011, 10:49 PM EDT

Ever since Jaromir Jagr left the NHL for the KHL, many fans of his have felt like they’re missing out on the end of a truly great NHL career. With Jagr playing with Avangard Omsk in Russia and still producing even at age 39, the former NHL legend is on the prowl for a new job.

While Jagr’s experience the last few seasons have all been in the KHL, his play in the Olympics and at the IIHF World Championships the last two years has kept people curious about whether or not he might try and play one more year or two in the NHL. Those hopes and dreams might have some traction now.

According to reports out of Detroit, Red Wings general manager Ken Holland has been approached by Jagr’s agent Petr Svoboda and while the Wings aren’t the only team he’s reached out to (the Rangers, Canadiens, and Capitals are there too), Red Wings GM Ken Holland is the only guy saying remotely anything about Jagr.

The Red Wings didn’t call Jagr. His agent, Petr Svoboda, called them. But Red Wings general manager Ken Holland has had several conversations with Svoboda, and coach Mike Babcock has spoken to Jagr.

Svoboda reportedly contacted Pittsburgh and the New York Rangers, two of Jagr’s former teams, as well as Montreal.

But Jagr would prefer to play in Detroit for the chance to play with highly skilled players Pavel Datsyuk, Henrik Zetterberg and, if he returns, Nicklas Lidstrom.

…

Holland declined comment, except to acknowledge that his club has been contacted and is exploring the possibility.

The idea that a 39 year-old, turning 40 in February, Jagr wants to take one more run at a Stanley Cup in the NHL with a team like Detroit makes the mind boggle. The Wings aren’t ones to back down from veteran interest as they took on Mike Modano last season in his efforts to latch on to a potential Cup winning team.

Jagr’s skill set isn’t what it used to be from what we remember from his years with the Penguins and Capitals. Hell, Jagr isn’t quite the same guy he was with the Rangers even four years ago, but what he’s shown in international competition is that he could still be a useful weapon on the power play and a guy who could contribute well with third line type of minutes.

Before we get ahead of ourselves drawing up the possibility of seeing a legend like Jagr giving it one more go in the NHL, you have to wonder if perhaps this is one last effort by Svoboda to get a KHL team to bite and offer him a juicier deal. Yahoo’s Dmitry Chesnokov finds out that his old team Avangard Omsk is the only one Jagr is negotiating with in Russia. If Jagr is worried about how he might hold up over the 82 game haul in the NHL season and if he’s got the thought of the hit he took in the 2010 Olympics from Alexander Ovechkin stuck in his head for what it’s like to play at that level every night, being more open about discussing things with the NHL would be a good way to scare Avangard into giving him a juicier deal. After all, if there’s no local competition for him there, why not hold the NHL up and out there as a means to scare his team into action.

The KHL hates losing any amount of talent to the NHL, especially guys who once starred in the NHL, so Svoboda’s open hunt to land Jagr an apparent job in the NHL might just be transparent enough for all of us to see what’s going on. Of course, if we put our cynicism away for a little while and embrace this for what it looks to be, waxing nostaligic and hopeful for Jagr’s return makes for a lot of fun. He was one of the most brilliant scorers of his time and the best player in the NHL for a long stretch of time. The thought of trotting him out on the same ice with Datsyuk and Zetterberg is tantalizing, let’s just hope we’re not being toyed with one last time.