On Tuesday, it was revealed that the Columbus Blue Jackets had tried to sign former NHL forward Mikhail Grigorenko to a one-year contract, good for the 2020-21 season. later reports surfaced that the contract was denied by the NHL.
Grigorenko would have been coming back to the NHL from three seasons in the KHL with CSKA Moscow and according to Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic, his NHL contract ($1.2 million) would have been worth a fraction of what he was offered to stay in Russia.
For now, Grigorenko will have to stay put as the NHL has deemed the Blue Jackets contract offer violates the terms of signing free agents until July. Teams can sign previously drafted players or never-drafted players to the NHL, but they cannot sign former NHL players who would be considered free agents under the traditional definition. Clearly, the Blue Jackets had misunderstood the rules.
The Blue Jackets organization issued a statement:
Earlier today, the Columbus Blue Jackets announced the signing of forward Mikhail Grigorenko to a one-year contract for the 2020-21 National Hockey League season. The contract subsequently has been rejected by the NHL Central Registry due to a misunderstanding with regards to the filing window. We have been in contact with the league and Dan Milstein, Grigorenko’s agent, and the contract will be filed on July 1.
The good news for Columbus is that Grigorenko still wants to sign with the team and made it be known he plans to join the club in July when he is permitted to sign.
Jeff Svoboda, Mikhail Grigorenko has stated that he expects his deal with the team to be filed with NHL come July 1, and he sees the Jackets as a good fit: “The opportunity is the big thing here, and Columbus is a team that can offer that. I’m really excited to join the team.” He added that he can’t wait to prove to people that he belongs in the NHL.
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