Stars scout: Nichushkin '50-50' to return to NHL next season
It's apparently a coin flip as far as Valeri Nichushkin's future is concerned.
"He's in Russia now and it's 50-50 on whether we get him back next season," Dallas Stars director of amateur scouting Joe McDonnell told NHL.com's Mike Morreale at the scouting combine Friday.
"In the end it'll be up to him if he wants to come back."
Nichushkin spent this season with CSKA Moscow in the KHL, notching 24 points in 36 regular-season games and adding five points in nine playoff contests.
The 22-year-old signed a two-year deal with the Russian club last September, but the Stars retained his NHL rights and will have them until he's eligible for unrestricted free agency in about five years.
"(If he does return), coach Ken Hitchcock and him will have to forge a relationship," McDonnell said. "If you watch Pittsburgh Penguins center Evgeni Malkin during the Stanley Cup Playoffs, that's what a Val Nichushkin can be in the end. But it's whether he has it in his heart. If he wants to do it, he can do it. It'd be huge for our franchise if we can get him back."
Stars general manager Jim Nill said in March that the young winger will likely be protected in the upcoming expansion draft later this month.
Nichushkin spent three seasons with the Stars after they drafted him 10th overall in 2013, missing all but eight NHL games in 2014-15 with a hip injury and managing only 23 goals and 64 points in his first 166 contests.
He represented Russia at last month's World Championship, collecting three assists in six games.