TORONTO – Nikita Zaitsev says the NHL’s decision not to allow players to attend the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics won’t impact his impending contract extension with the Toronto Maple Leafs.
The 25-year-old Russian defenceman is believed to have agreed to a $31.5-million, seven-year deal with the Leafs that hasn’t yet been finalized, and indicated that this week’s Olympic announcement hasn’t changed his view of remaining in North America next season.
“No, it doesn’t,” he said Thursday before Toronto played Tampa.
The Russian federation has been urging players to come home and play in the KHL in the wake of the NHL’s decision, allowing them to head to South Korea next February. Others, such as Alex Ovechkin and Evgeny Kuznetsov of the Washington Capitals, say they are going either way.
Zaitsev isn’t drawing that kind of line in the sand.
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He’s nearing the end of his first NHL season after spending seven years in the KHL and pointed out that he doesn’t have the same kind of leverage as Ovechkin.
“I don’t have a $10-million salary here,” said Zaitsev. “So he can do whatever he wants. He’s like a superstar player.”
Zaitsev has, however, made a positive impact on the Leafs with four goals and 36 points in 79 games.
He’s represented his country at every level but the Olympics – winning gold at the 2011 world junior tournament and bronze at last year’s IIHF World Hockey Championship – but doesn’t sound like a player who will be willing to break ranks to get there in 2018.
“Here, in our team, we’re just concentrated on the playoffs,” said Zaitsev. “I think everybody wants to play for their national team, especially in the Olympics, but it’s not the right time to think about it right now.
“So this is what I have.”
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