Wild claims to refuse to offer Solokov

In addition to the hubbub surrounding the upcoming Seattle expansion on July 21 and the NHL entry list just two days later, teams are already preparing their game plans for limited vacancies – who will be offered qualifiers, which players will choose arbitration, and which ones should be released.

Friday, Athletics Michael Russo tweeted that Minnesota Wild is already making its plans for the RFA, and that means bad news for Dmitry Solokov. According to Russon, they have already made the decision to refuse to bid for the 2016 seventh round of the tender.

We made a profile of Solokov on our 2020 Top 25 Under 25 list, and while scouts and coaches were excited about his points production at the OHL and his ability to score at all levels, almost where the book ended up with Solokov. His lack of defense, sometimes limited to laziness, was always worrisome in his younger days, and former coach Bruce Boudreau kicked Solokov during his legendary skating test – a test that Sokky failed.

Meanwhile, when one closes, the other opens because the wild also reportedly (thanks again to Russo) is trying to bring back the talented central striker Alex Khovanov In exile in Siberia time in KHL during the COVID period delay. Kovy was 8th in our investment opportunity last year, and is one of the few players to aspire to be the Wilds Center of Excellence potential behind Marco Rossi – Marat Khusnutdinov and Connor Dewar are also on the list.

Khovanov originally earned a place on AK Bars Kazan in Russias ’top hockey league, but with rumored clashes with coaches and an inability to adapt to KHL, Khovanov was demoted to Bars Kazan in second-tier VHL. However, with the relegation of the class and the reduction of extra ice time, Khovanov improved, scoring eight goals and 16 assists in 30 matches. The plan has always been to get Khovanov to Iowa to continue its development, and considering Russo, it seems like it’s still a Wild Office plan. Khovanov has two more seasons at ELC and will continue to be RFA when his contract expires in 2023.

As for the rest of the Wilds RFA to-do list, the biggest name is still clearly Kevin Fiala, but Minnesota still has decisions on possible quality control actions by Mason Shawn, Will Bitten and Brandon Duhaime, the latter being just players other than Fiala who is conciliatory.