Richard Zednik heading to Russia for 2009-10, named a finalist for NHL's Masterton Trophy

by Donny Rivette on Apr 30, 2009 4:58 PM EDT Comment 9 comments

A big day for Zeds, as the now-former Florida first-liner signs with Lokomotiv Yaroslavl of the Russian Superleague. He will have been a free agent on July 1st (and presumably, he'll remain that way on this side of the pond). It appears he'll join former Islanders fan-favorite Alexei Yashin, who had a decent season (but good luck with everything else on this link).

Richard Zednik

#20 / Left Wing / Florida Panthers

Height: 6-0

Weight: 200

Born: Jan 06, 1976

	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM	PPG	SHG	GWG	GTG	SOG	PCT
2008 - Richard Zednik	70	17	16	33	2	46	3	0	4	0	153	11.1

The 33 year-old finished about where he was expected, pointwise, which speaks volumes about the Panthers' top line. On top of two still-celebrated highlight-reel goals, Zeds thrilled and amazed the sports world by returning from The Incident in seven months time. Heck, returning at all stumped a lot of folks.

The NHL won't let him go so easily, however, and named him a finalist, along with Detroit's Chris Chelios (because he's still alive?) and Nashville's Steve Sullivan (a very worthy candidate) for the Bill Masterton Trophy. My money remains on Zednik.

Congrats to #20 on a day of major accomplishment. Florida was never going to pay him near the $1.75M he earned over each of the past two years, so big props.

Alas, one roster spot open up on the wings. Who fills it: someone from within or will GM JM look elsewhere?

Huge thanks to Pensburgh's FrankD for the heads-up. This is what I get for working late.

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I was kinda shocked to read that he signed in Russia. Was he at all discouraged with how things were going in Florida?

If anything it’ll make it kinda funny for the NHL to award the Masterson to a guy who more or less says, “Well, thanks but…see ya.”

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by FrankD on Apr 30, 2009 5:54 PM EDT reply actions

On the trophy nod, he did earn it. Four pints of blood on the HSBC ice stands by that. Still hope he wins it.

As for his opinion of the Panthers organization, I don’t know what his thoughts may be, but he never lashed out or said anything remotely controversial, at least publicly. He was a soild trooper to the end.

As I stated before, there’s no way he was going to make the type of coin he was used to – not in Florida, and probably (no, certainly) not anywhere else in the NHL – so why not jump if you’ve got the ambition to try something new? Kudos to the guy for branching out. He wasn’t going to hit 35 points in this league ever again anyway. At 33, his best offensive days are behind him, unless he found himself perched in a faceoff circle next to Datsyuk or Ovie.

The Cats need the room – salary and otherwise – to bring in some new blood.

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by Donny Rivette on Apr 30, 2009 6:45 PM EDT up reply actions

See my argument against Zednik winning the Masterson is that he didn’t have a long physical rehabilitation like Steve Sullivan (and snub Patrice Bergeron) did. Yes, it was a horrific accident but once he was healed, he was good to go.

Stanley Cup of Chowder: A Hearty Serving of Hockey in The Hub

by Stanley Cup of Chowder on Apr 30, 2009 10:18 PM EDT up reply actions

Yes, healing up was one thing. Getting back on the ice & having a somewhat productive year is another. There was no way to know if that accident would have affected his style of play….to be aggressive & get in the mix of things. It didn’t take Malarchuk long to get back on the ice either, but he was never the same after his accident.

by CLG_74 on May 1, 2009 6:55 AM EDT up reply actions

Good take, CLG. He blew away anyone’s wildest predictions.

There was, however, that benching, of course…

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by Donny Rivette on May 2, 2009 9:46 PM EDT up reply actions

Yes….briefly benched. I think there were some other players more worthy of a benching though….

by CLG_74 on May 3, 2009 8:13 AM EDT up reply actions

I will miss him......

Considering what he went through, he did quite well….better than some of the younger players on the team, that make a lot more than him. He had heart. Good luck Richard Zednik. I will always be a fan of yours.

by CLG_74 on Apr 30, 2009 6:33 PM EDT reply actions

noo..

I loved zednik, along with most other cats fans, and most other nhl fans. Remarkable recovery topped with a couple of highlight reel goals made him one of the most lovable panther this past season

by chris37 on May 2, 2009 4:47 PM EDT reply actions

He certainly stamped his season with a few “Don’t forget me” highlighters. Remarkable.

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by Donny Rivette on May 2, 2009 9:45 PM EDT up reply actions

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