Denis Grebeshkov Heads to Russia
Former Nashville Predators defenseman Denis Grebeshkov has decided to return to Russia. The 26 year-old has signed with Kontinetal Hockey League (KHL) club SKA St. Petersburg. The deal is believed to be worth more than the $3.16 million he earned last season, and is expected to last two years.
Denis Grebeshkov
Grebeshkov began his professional career playing for the Russian club Yaroslavl. Grebeshkov began with the clubs junior team and after three seasons he was promoted to the senior club. In his final season in Russia, he played in 48 games and scored seven points.
He was drafted 18th overall by the Los Angeles Kings in the 2002 National Hockey League (NHL) draft. The Kings decided to place Grebeshkov with their American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate the Manchester Monarchs. Grebeshkov spent two years with the Monarchs. he second of which was very impressive as he managed 49 points in 78 games.
The following year, he spent the better part of the beginning of the season in the AHL, playing only eight games with the Kings. Grebeshkov was then traded to the New York Islanders, where he played the final 21 games, only mustering 3 points.
Grebeshkov was unable to come to terms with the Islanders at the end of the season and elected to go back to Russia. He spent the season with his old club Yaroslavl, and decided to return to the NHL the following year. The Islanders traded Grebeshkov’s rights to the Edmonton Oilers, where he played two full seasons with the club.
Last year, Grebeshkov was traded by the Oilers to the Predators, scoring 21 points in 51 games. Unable to find a suitable offer in the NHL, he has elected to head back to Russia.
Grebeshkov’s Perspective
Grebeshkov does not possess the skill to be an everyday NHL defenseman and therefore his return to Russia comes as no surprise. He has already fled the NHL for the KHL once in his career and the likelihood of him returning there to begin the season was high.
If Grebeshkov were to stay in the NHL, he would have been forced into a contract similar to those recently signed by Alexei Ponikarovsky and Alexander Frolov; which would be a short-term contract with a pay decrease, in the hopes that one season of strong play would earn him a long-term contract the following season. However, Maxim Afinogenov signed a similar contract last season with the Atlanta Thrashers and has still not yet been signed.
In addition, the reported contract from SKA St. Petersburg looks to be very large. Something the Russian defender could not pass up. Grebeshkov should see more ice time and responsibility in the more watered down KHL, however, even in the prime of his career he was not able to put up big numbers in the notoriously defensive league.
Will Grebeshkov be back?
Since its inception, the KHL has managed to pull marginal Russian talent back home, but has had trouble signing superstars, as well as keeping the better players in their ranks. Outside of Alexander Radulov and Alexei Morozov, the KHL sees its talent come and go according to the needs of NHL franchises. The most recent example being Nikolai Zherdev, who spent last season in the ‘K’ but departed this offseason to sign a one-year deal with the Philadelphia Flyers.
Nevertheless, it is doubtful that Grebeshkov will return to the NHL. The defenseman never lived up to his 18th overall selection and is known to be very difficult to deal with, giving you strong efforts one night, and then disappearing for weeks on end. In the end, Grebeshkov was not good enough to remain in the NHL as a full-time player, and the next time North Americans see him is likely to be in next year’s World Championships.
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