FanHouse Oleg Kvasha

A couple of weeks ago, TSN hockey analyst Gord Miller came to the conclusion that in order for the Pittsburgh Penguins to remain competitive in the NHL, they would have to deal the league's leading scorer, Evgeni Malkin, for a first-line winger, a No. 2 center, and "hopefully" a pick or a prospect. It was a laughable proposal.

On Sunday night, Rob Rossi, Penguins beat writer for the Tribune-Review, appeared on a weekly Pittsburgh talk show and suggested the team would be wise to put Sidney Crosby on the trade block this offseason. I guess this is what happens when you go from being two wins away from hoisting the Stanley Cup to being the No. 10 team in the Eastern Conference in a matter of one season.

Last night when the Phoenix Coyotes dropped a 3-2 decision to the San Jose Sharks, they did so without the services of center Olli Jokinen. It was only the second game Jokinen has missed since the 2002-03 season (the first one was Friday night's game in Colorado), snapping a streak of 397 consecutive games played. While it will never be confused with Cal Ripken Jr.'s ironman streak, it's still an impressive accomplishment to play in every NHL game for five consecutive seasons.

Jokinen, 29, will be sidelined for two weeks with a shoulder injury suffered against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Wednesday.

Originally a No. 3 overall pick of the Los Angeles Kings, Jokinen was eventually shipped to the New York Islanders where he played one season before then-general manager Mike Milbury made, in my opinion, one of the worst trades in NHL history. Just prior to the 2000 NHL entry draft, Milbury sent Jokinen, along with goaltender Roberto Luongo, to the Florida Panthers in exchange for forwards Oleg Kvasha and Mark Parrish.

After toiling in anonymity for four years in Florida, developing into a consistent 35-goal scorer, Jokinen was again part of a draft day trade this past offseason, when the Panthers shipped him to Phoenix for Keith Ballard, Nick Boynton and a second-round draft pick.

So far this season Jokinen has 18 points (7 goals, 11 assists) in 21 games for the Coyotes.

The boys from 2 Man Advantage sure take their sweet time getting their videos out, but it's usually worth the wait. Perhaps they spend all of those extra hours working on their makeup. *ahem*

Anyway, their latest web-vid has them attending the New York Islanders home opener and loitering in the parking lot. I'm just disappointed that they didn't spend at least five minutes reminiscing about the greatness of ex-Isle Oleg Kvasha.

Speaking of those Islanders, how is it that the team is 5-4-1, yet they don't have a single player with a positive plus-minus?

Previous 2 Man Advantage episodes:
Islanders Training Camp
Interviews with Adam Graves and Ryan Getzlaf.
The best Neil Smith interview. Ever!

With all of the humming and hawing about how insane the free agent market is, there are still great deals to be had. Yes, some players can help a squad and not break the bank.

While my colleague Mirtle had his little list of free agent bargains (though paying more than $5 for Andy Sutton is too frickin much), he keeps forgetting about poor old Oleg Kvasha.

That's right, the very Oleg Kvasha that inspired the worst music video of all time.

I am amazed that nobody has considered this 2-way, in-his-prime, smooth-skating forward as a free agent signing. For the money a team spends on the likes of a way-over-the-hill Bill Guerin, why not sign a guy who can play well at all facets of the game, and for half the salary?

SEASON TEAM GP G A PTS
02-03   NYI 69 12 14 26
03-04   NYI 81 15 36 51
05-06   NYI 49  9 12 21
05-06   PHX 15  4  7 11

I realize that Kvasha has frustrated some mediots and scouts because he hasn't put up huge offensive numbers, despite being able to do things like this.

Well, Oleg doesn't quite have THAT much talent. What he does have, though, is the ability to play all forward positions, the ability to kill penalties (He was Jason Blake's regular PK partner), and good playmaking skills.

Last season, Kvasha had to play in the Russian league because the New CBA worked against him and others like him. His salary range of about $1,178,000 (What he made before the lockout) made it hard for clubs to sign him. Teams either spent big (Martin St. Louis), or spent small (Josh Green).

Now with the salary cap at $50mil+, there is more than enough room for Kvasha and his 6'5" frame in the league. If an NHL teams wants a good bargain, they ought to sign this guy and stick him on the 2nd or 3rd line.

Some have suggested that the reason that Oleg Kvasha, the talented and enigmatic Russian giant, isn't in the NHL this year is all due to the Salary Cap restricting a guy of his talent and salary range from finding a willing team. Why else would an effective 2-way forward be playing in Russia this season?

That sounds logical, but I think it has more to do with him seeing this 'rap' video and running away from the North American continent in total and utter terror.

*cringe*