In The Dark

Tarik El-Bashir has this little snippet about Nylander's agent, Bill Zito, not having spoken to any KHL teams. There's no overt reason to believe he's putting up a smoke-screen.

"For a year I've been hearing the [rumors]," Bill Zito told me earlier today. "Michael called me a couple times and asked, 'Have you talked to these guys?' In the past it's been Yaroslavl, then it was Moscow, then it was St. Pete. We haven't spoken to them, and anyway, he has a contract with Washington."

So, is Nylander to the KHL dead? Likely. Very likely.

Those looking hoping he still might make the jump may want to remember that Nylander negotiated his contract with Washington without using his agent. And Kevin Lowe and the Edmonton Oilers didn't like that at all. (Funny looking back at that situation with hindsight, hunh?)

Unlikely that Nylander plays anywhere but Washington in the 09-10 season, in our opinion, but Nylander's deal with Washington was likely news to his agent, as well.