Recently it was reported that Mikhail Pashnin was leaving the KHL to come to North America this season to try and make the NHL. Laurie Carr at Beyond the Blueshirts clarifies the situation saying that Pashnin has not made a final decision yet on where he will play next season.
“At the current moment, Pashnin has not signed any contract, either with CSKA Moscow or the Rangers. All roads are open for Mikhail,” he stressed. “Anything’s possible.”The holdup is likely that the Rangers are not offering the kind of money he wants and certainly not what he could be making in the KHL. The crowded defense corps would not help that decision either as he is unlikely to get a real shot at the NHL this season and would be amongst a host of defensive prospects playing in the AHL. Either way there is a blockade of players standing between him and the NHL in the system, so maybe for him it is better to continue getting paid over in the KHL. The Rangers desire to have him here and under their tutelage is obvious, but Pashnin will decide what is best for him and his future. Either way it appears the decision will be made within the next few weeks.
