Alexander Radulov confirmed return to NHL in 2016-17

Unrestricted free agent Alexander Radulov confirmed to national media on Friday that he will be returning to the National Hockey League in 2016-17.

Apparently, Alexander Radulov did not report to Russia’s opening camp for the IIHF World Championship, which will be held in Moscow and Saint Petersburg in May. Instead, he traveled to New York to have meetings with the media and league to discuss future opportunities in North America.

Radulov originally played for the NHL with the Nashville Predators from 2006-08 and 2011-12, but his time with the team was cut short after he and teammate Andrew Kostitsyn were suspended during the Predators’ 2012 postseason for violating curfew rules. In his two opportunities in the league, Radulov scored 47 goals and notched 55 assists over 154 games.

He has been a tremendous x-factor in Russian hockey since leaving the Nashville Predators in 2011-12 and signing a four-year contract with Moscow for about $9.2 million per year. Prior to this decision to resign with the NHL, the 29-year-old star forward declined multiple contract extension offers from CSKA Moscow, the KHL club he led within just one win of winning the Gagarin Cup just last week. In each game, the two-time IIHF world champion winger has earned at least a point in each game during his four season stint with CSKA, and this season he managed to score 23 goals and add 42 assists in his 53 games, placing him in second in the league for scoring.

Already there is speculation about who Radulov will sign with this time in the NHL. The Colorado Avalanche are the believed favorite  to sign Radulov, but Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman wrote that Radulov has also expressed interest in signing with the Detroit Red Wings, the Washington Capitals and the Florida Panthers.

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