The Golden Knights jumped through an assortment of hoops to help Nikita Gusev secure his early release from the Kontinental Hockey League this spring.
Was all that work for naught?
Incoming president of hockey operations George McPhee further stoked the speculation surrounding the Russian import Monday, flatly stating the team will explore trading his rights if they can’t agree to a deal with the restricted free agent.
“We think he’s a really good player. We’d like to work something out here,” McPhee said. “If that doesn’t work out, we’ll look at options. But there’s definitely interest in him.