Former NY Rangers Jaromir Jagr and Nashville Predators forward Alexander Radulov are the two most notable names to sign with clubs this summer in Russia's new Kontinental Hockey League (KHL), a super-sized version of the old Russian Super League funded primarily by Russian oil billionaires, sparking concerns and debate over a potential talent drain from the NHL.
Find below a list (compiled by "Jarmac" of HFBoards.com) of former NHL'ers who've signed to play in the KHL next season and their new clubs.
Ak Bars Kazan: Wade Dubielewicz, Niko Kapanen
Atlant Mytischi: Ray Emery, Magnus Johansson
Amur Khabarovsk: Bryce Lampman, Kyle Wanvig
Avangard Omsk: John Grahame, Jaromir Jagr
Barys Astana: Josef Stumpel, Branislav Mezei, Kevin Dallman
CSKA Moscow: Ivan Khomutov
Dinamo Moscow: Karel Rachunek, Denis Tolpeko
Dinamo Riga: Marcel Hossa, Matt Ellison, Ronald Petrovicky, Duvie Westcott, Mark Hartigan
Lokomotiv Yaroslavl: Josef Vasicek
Metallurg Magnitogorsk: Karel Pilar
Salavat Yulaev UFA: Alexander Radulov, Steve McCarthy
Severstal Cherepovets: Joel Kwiatkowski
Sibir Novosibirsk:
SKA St. Petersburg: Andrei Zyuzin, Sergei Brylin
Spartak Moscow: Ivan Baranka, Branko Radivojevic, Stefan Ruzicka
Vityaz Podolsk: Chris Simon, Derrick Walser
Looking at this list, the biggest catches for the KHL remain a fading Jagr (who only signed with Avangard Omsk when the Rangers were unwilling to re-sign him to a multi-year contract and whose best seasons are now behind him) and a rising young talent in Radulov, who may not have been made fully aware of the implications of his signing (particularly in participating in international competition) and who hasn't ruled out a return to the NHL in the future.
The majority of players on this list are players with fading or marginal skills by NHL standards who were unable to land better deals with NHL teams and opted instead for the bigger bucks in Russia.
This doesn't account for much of a talent drain thus far for the NHL.
The Rangers aren't going to struggle without Jagr, as their signings last summer of Scott Gomez and Chris Drury clealry set the stage for Jagr's eventual departure.
Losing Radulov (who isn't likely to return this season despite a potential legal challenge by the NHL) is a blow for the Predators but not a fatal one. If their entire season rested on Radulov's performance they're in far worse shape than their critics believe. Replacing him won't be easy but adding depth via trade or free agency could soften the blow and fill in for some of the missing offense he would've provided.
As for the rest, their absence will have no signficant impact upon the caliber of play in the NHL this upcoming season.
That doesn't mean the NHL shouldn't take the KHL lightly. Just because they failed to sign away big name stars or more significant rising talent this summer doesn't mean they'll fail again next summer.
Of course that possibility flies out the window if the NHL, KHL and IIHF can hammer out a transfer agreement or at least maintain their recent agreement of not poaching away players under contract, an agreement currently in jeopardy in the wake of the Radulov signing.
Players currently under NHL entry level contracts or those just coming out of them will likely be the biggest targets for KHL clubs, and of course they're going to zero in specifically on Russian-born talent.
But if this summer is an indication of what the future might hold for potential signings by the KHL, it'll be little more than an irritant to the NHL and not a significant threat to its talent pool.