Who adds what?
Joined: Jul. 2017
Posts: 13,677
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From a Caps fan who was excited to see him play with Ovechkin and Kuznetsov, yes, please, do this. Give Shumakov a shot on a line with Kovalchuk. He was 14th in the KHL in points last year and Kovalchuk was 1st. They can both score goals and they can both set them up. Things haven't gone well for Shumakov in Hershey, where he's the only Russian-speaking forward, and he's battled through a wrist injury, but gotten healthy enough to score a goal again, afterwards. Playing with an NHL superstar who speaks his language should help him adjust to North America very quickly.
Not only will the Kings get a good player for nothing, but the NHL will show KHL players that it finds opportunities for stars who want to come over and play. So this is not just good for the Kings, but good for the whole league, as teams try to convince guys like Gusev, Shipachyev, and Galiev that there are second chances in the NHL, after Nail Yakupov made headlines last summer saying he didn't get the right opportunities. For the league, for all teams' ability to sign good players out of one of the best leagues in the world, playing Shumakov with Kovalchuk is a great move. For the Kings, it'll make this season a lot more exciting. If the coach still isn't done punishing Kovy for some defensive miscues, give him another game or so, and get over it. People watch games to see skilled guys score goals. Shumakov and Kovalchuk together will do that.