It's the end of an era in San Jose and in hockey pools everywhere, as Evgeni Nabokov, the highest ranked unrestricted free agent, could not find a deal that he found suitable in North America, so he has now decided to take on the KHL, signing a 4-year deal that would pay him $24 million US. With Nabokov already being 35 years old, this 4-year deal will likely see out his career over in Europe.In the better parts of 10 NHL seasons, Nabokov accumulated 293 wins and 50 shutouts with the San Jose Sharks and was a mainstay in the 1st round of most hockey pool drafts for most of those 10 seasons.
The Sharks were getting good value out of Nabokov in the regular season, winning more than 40 games on three separate occasions and more than 30 in three other seasons. Unfortunately, with a large salary and cap hit, there comes large expectations in the playoffs and that was where Nabokov was struggling the most. In 80 NHL playoff games, he only has a record of 40-38, failing to move past the Conference Finals in his career.
It will definitely be strange to go through a hockey pool draft without him being picked, unless you didn't tell that one guy that is out of the loop. That would be both sad and funny.
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