It’s that time of the hockey season. There is a deep playoff race and trade rumors floating around every fan’s head with the NHL trade deadline less than a month away. Transactions are about to be in the conversation and overseas free agency only fans that flame.
The KHL regular season is ending in February and the playoffs will only go just into spring, so with that gap of time, several free agents will be eyeing North American destinations and NHL teams to sign with after their time in Russia comes to a close and they try to make it in the big pond.
Arguably, at the top of that list this year is 25-year-old scoring winger Maxim Tsyplakov.
Tsyplakov has good size, listed at 6-foot-3 and 190 lbs, and has just put on a complete show this season for his Spartak Moscow team. Through 58 games this year, Tsyplakov has scored 30(!) goals and 45 points. His previous season high was the year prior, with 25 points in 63 games. Of course, those numbers make you wonder if this is just a drop in the pan in terms of actual ability. But what could also be taking place is just a late bloomer who never truly got his opportunity at the top domestic level.
So, should the Philadelphia Flyers be interested in this type of player and potentially add him to the roster for next season?
Well, in a recent report from The Athletic’s Joshua Kloke, he divulged that the Toronto Maple Leafs are the only NHL team officially named to have had conversations with the player. But, the player’s agent Alexander Chernykh, mentioned that at least 12 different teams expressed some sort of interest. And it is hard to believe that the Flyers were not one of them.
Why? Well, we already can link the Russian factor of one certain “Mad Russian” coming in soon enough, and if Tsyplakov turns into a decent player, Matvei Michkov would have at least someone he can lean on to make the transition to North America. Plus, Tsyplakov turning 26 before next season should still put him on the timeline of being here when the Flyers have a desire to really give their best effort at being a contending team.
But that’s all about the long-term effects if this Russian free agent turns into something. The bonus of it all would be not a whole lot of commitment. At his age, he would be signing a one-year Entry-Level Contract. So, in any scenario where this relationship turns into a Vadim Shipachyov situation and he barely appears in the NHL, there are no strings attached or major baggage. He could be a decent goalscorer acquired for fairly cheap.
Wrapped in a bundle that includes some off-ice factors, a knack for scoring some timely goals, his ability to create off the rush (which the Flyers absolutely love to do), and his size and ability to hit some bodies — it feels like he’s a Flyer already.
Now is the time to try out some young talent and see what they can do and who they gel with on the current roster, so why not Tsyplakov? It would be just a little shocking if the Flyers were not one of the interested teams, at this point.
