With Backstrom like he is, I think trading Eller should be off the table, even with McMichael probably being a starter next year. Backy should consider retirement before he ends up in a wheel chair because of those hips, sad to say.

Caps #1 line could be called "The Putin Line."

Georgiev has played quite well this year, while the Rangers may look to sell high on him I doubt Lars Eller is the guy they want unless you’re retaining half his deal.

the red telephone line

Might as well add Barabanov too. Have always found it a bit ironic that so many Russians play for Washington's team.

Detroit used to have "The Russian 5" who played as a 5 man unit together.

Kozlov-Larionov-Fedorov-Fetisov-Konstantinov.

Boy were they fun to watch! 👍

Even had the Red jerseys. 🤣

I'm all for it 😆

Orlov and Alexeyev

You're a Sharks fan. You might recall the trade. When Detroit traded Ray Sheppard to the Sharks for Igor Larionov. That's when Scotty Bowman united the 5 Russian players and "The Russian 5" was born. October of 1995 IIRC. 🙂

I was only 3-4 years old but Randy Hahn's (Sharks play-by-play) has always talked about how great Larionov was for the Sharks since I was a kid on air. A legend for sure.

Yeah Igor's best years were in the 80s playing for the Soviets. He played on the infamous KLM line. Krutov-Larionov-Makarov. IIRC Makarov won rookie of the year for San Jose when he was 30 or 32. Can't remember. They changed the rookie rule after that.

The original 5 man Russian unit was the KLM line playing with Fetisov and Kasatonov on defense. They played together for years.

If you get a chance, check out the 1987 Canada Cup 3 game final on YouTube. That's the best hockey I've ever watched. Gretzky and Lemieux vs the KLM line. What a treat that was! 👍

https://youtu.be/M_Ip46b4nTY

Sharks decline. Chmelevski is finally showing signs he should be in the NHL and has been used in key minutes on defense. He's still young and cheap; and Sharks need that right now.