As revealed on December 13, Evgeni Nabokov has left his team in Russia, SKA St. Petersburg. He left in the first year of a four year deal. The contract has been terminated, apparently due to family circumstances. In his 22 games played with SKA, he had an 8-8-5 record, with a not-so-great 3.02 GAA and .888 Sv. Percentage.
However, the numbers weren't entirely "Nabby's" fault. In Russia, the ice dimensions are bigger, so the angles were different. Also, in Russia, they play an offensively minded game, and a lack of defense may have lead to more goals against. Not to mention, these "family issues" may have added even more pressure, leading to Nabby not being on top of his game.
Nabokov will most likely be returning to the NHL. The 35-year-old still wants to play, and should perform fine. His numbers in the KHL weren't so Nabby-like, he should be better in the NHL, because of the environment he's used to playing in.
Nabokov had a ten year tenure with the San Jose Sharks, but General Manager Doug Wilson confirmed that Nabokov will not be returning to San Jose, despite putting up excellent numbers ...
Read Full Article at Bleacher Report - NHL
Article written by Michael DeSantis
Evgeni Nabokov Parts with Russian Team, Will Return to NHL—But For What Team?
December 18th, 2010 by Michael DeSantis Leave a reply »
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