round, 91* overall, of the 2004 NHL entry draft by the Canucks.
The Swedish-born Edler, who once suited up for the Western Hockey League’s Kelowna Rockets, has been one of Vancouver’s most pleasant surprises over the

past three years. After turning pro at the start of the 2006-07 season, Edler split the campaign between Vancouver and Manitoba.

__ The next year, Edler was touted as being one of the leaders on the Moose. However, he surprised everyone in the organization by making the Canucks straight
out of training camp. There, he was supposed to be one of the bottom-end blueliners on the team, but when injuries ravaged the Vancouver blueline, Edler stepped
up his game admirably and filled in as a top four defenseman for the majority of the year.

Edler is now one of the team’s top defenseman. Last year he scored eight goals and added 12 assists for 20 points over 75 games with the Canucks. He
impressed everyone with his incredibly smooth skating and his crisp passes. He was named to the NHL’s young stars team and took the honour of having the hardest
shot on the Canucks at the team super skills competition. Edler also suited up for his native Sweden at the 2008 World Championships, helping the Swedes to a

fourth place finish.

Edler has been compared favourably to fellow Canucks’ defenseman Mathias Ohlund, another Vancouver draft pick that has spent his entire career here. At 6’4,
220 pounds, Edler has the size to be an elite defenseman. He possesses a cannon of a shot from the point and has terrific offensive instincts for a d-man. That makes
him a valuable commodity for the Canucks, who have a deep back end but are short on defensemen who can score. He is also very solid in his own zone, finishing
an impressive plus six on the year, and at one point led all rookies in that department. However, with increased duties following the slew of injuries to Vancouver’s
top defensemen, Edler saw more time against the opposition’s best players and as a result, his plus/minus-rating dropped slightly. He even has a couple of game-

winning shootout goals last season.

So far this season, Edler has continued to prove that he is someone the team should be built around. In the Canucks opening three games, Edler has a goal and

an assist with a plus four rating and has added four penalty minutes. He plays a physical style and excels in all areas of the game. Canucks fans should be happy that
this guy is locked up for at least another four years.

N

 

 

Where are they MOW 5 cess sicrcans, spas

 

 

 

   

Ray Emery:

Not too long ago, goaltender Ray Emery,
26, was considered to be the face of

the Ottawa Senators’ franchise for the
next decade. However, a combination

of attitude problems from Emery,
including being late and ditching practice,
increasingly poor play and a culmination
of injuries caused the Senators to rethink
their three-year, $9.5 million investment in
the mercurial netminder.

Eventually, the problems escalated;
the Senators bowed out in the first round
of the 2008 playoffs, and head Coach
John Paddock was fired after battling with
Emery all season long. At the conclusion
of the year, Ottawa made it abundantly
clear that they did not want Emery back,
and they bought out the remaining years
on his deal. After clearing waivers, Emery
became a free agent.

Emery then attempted to find another
NHL job, but nobody wanted the diva-
esque goalie. With nowhere else to turn,
Emery fled to the newly created KHL and
signed a one-year, $2 million contract to
play for Atlant Mytishchi. However, due
to a league rule designed to encourage the
development of Russian goalies, foreign
goaltenders will only be permitted to play
in 65 percent of a team’s games.

 

 

 

Jaromir Jagr:

In the middle of last season, Jaromir Jagr,
the New York Ranger’s dynamic right
winger, was in the midst of a solid season
and was being coveted by a number of
jostling general managers as the off-
season’s top unrestricted free agent.

However, the Rangers couldn’t retain
the 36-year-old Czech’s services and none
of the other NHL GM’s could rope him
in either. Instead, Jagr departed from the
NHL—not into retirement though. Nope,
Jagr became the European version of
Bobby Hull when he signed a two-year
contract with Avangard Omsk in the brand
new Russia-based Kontinental Hockety
League, or the KHL. The pact will pay
Jagr a monstrous $10 million tax-free per
season. Just like Hull 36 years before him,
Jagr’s presence in a new league that is
seeking to compete with the NHL lends the
Russian loop instant credibility.

Jagr’s deal has an option for an even
higher paid third season, but it is expected
that Jagr will finish up his playing career
for his Father’s Czech team, HC Kladno.

 

 

   

Ladislav Nagy:

After ten years in the NHL split between
four different teams, 29-year old Slovakian
sniper Ladislav Nagy said goodbye to the
NHL and hello to the newly formed KHL,
adding another premier star to their ranks.

Nagy’s stock had faded during his
final year in NHL with the Los Angeles
Kings, where the player who was once
considered to be one of the league’s most
dangerous forwards was limited to just
38 games over the entire 2007-08 season.
Nagging injuries had been a major factor in
his steady goal total decline. He netted just
nine last year.

When the unrestricted free agent
market opened up on July 1“, Nagy’s name
was barely mentioned, and he turned to
Russia for a fresh start. On August 18",
Nagy signed a two-year, $5.6 million deal
with Cherepovets.

While his NHL career is on hold,
Nagy has stated in interviews that playing
with North America’s best is where he
wants to be. He says that he views the KHL
as a temporary stop and returning to the
NHL is his goal.

 

 

 

Alexander Radulov:

At the end of last season, Alexander
Radulov, 22, seemed to have one of the
brightest up-and-coming NHL careers. He
had just completed his second season in
the NHL, and has racked up an impressive
26 goals and 32 assists in limited playing
time for the Nashville Predators. He only
had one more season to go before his entry
level, and heavily capped, rookie deal
expired, which would have meant untold
millions for one of the best and most gifted
young forwards in the game.

Then, the new KHL came into being
and made its intentions perfectly clear.
They were going to raid as many top NHL
players as they could and Radulov was one
of the first targeted. Being Russian himself,
Radulov shocked the hockey world by
signing a three-year deal with Salavat
Yulaev Ufa, even though he was still under
contract with the Predators for one more
year.

The NHL went into an uproar and
suspended Radulov for the duration of the
NHL season without pay. That won’t mean
much to Radulov or the KHL though, as
the upstart new league just gained one of
the best offensive players around.

 

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