Vadim Shipachyov is a 30-year-old with three games of NHL experience that is making $4.5 million for the next two seasons, so why would the Colorado Avalanche - or any other team - be interested in giving up assets to acquire him?
Shipachyov is good - but is he NHL good? We don’t know that yet.
When the Vegas Golden Knights were building their team this past summer, General Manager George McPhee was looking to explore different avenues beyond the expansion draft. Signing the 30-year old KHL star was one of them.
When Shipachyov chose the Golden Knights, it was seen as a coup for the expansion team - though it was evident that the move was driven by money.