That's right kids. The Muscle from Magnitogorsk has re-signed with the Leafs on a two year deal. Ryan Fancey of the Leafs Nation had this to say about Kulemin's new deal:
The Cliff's Notes is that Kulemin is a positive play driver on the wing with Mikhail Grabovski. He can still be a force offensively, but probably not as much as we'd like. His powerplay time took a tumble last year and that ought to continue. Without the powerplay minutes, he can't be expected to break 20 goals without some real cozy percentages.
But that's still pretty good for a 2nd-3rd line hybrid player, and at his price.
As Ryan suggests, Kulemin is what you would call a "tweener". Not quite good enough production to be a consistent 25 goal scorer, but his puck possession game is better than that of your average third liner. The Leafs just bought another two years of development time for a lot of their young forward prospects at a reasonable price. Pretty solid deal.
The rest of your Saturday links are after the jump...
Magical Mikhail - Zone-adjusted Corsi for Leafs forwards
Cam Charron has the numbers you're looking for. Any surprises?
BCapp on Kulemin and arbitration
Preds and Flyers engage in high stakes gamble
I think my money is still on Philadelpia on this one
Mirtle on revenue sharing, profits, and the next CBA
