Once again, our friend Dmitry Chesnokov from Sovetsky Sport passed along a piece of news that ought to interest North American hockey fans.
According to KHL President Alexander Medvedev, center Sergei Fedorov is set to re-sign with the Washington Capitals. Here's the report from Sovetsky's Pavel Lysenkov, who was at a press event in Moscow earlier today where Medvedev was unveiling the new logo for the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL):
"It is sad that we will not see Sergei Fedorov in the KHL. Most likely, today he will sign a new contract with Washington."
Medvedev, according to Lysenkov, is on the board of SKA St. Petersburg hockey club, which was involved in negotiations with Fedorov.
I just got off the phone with Nate Ewell of the Caps PR office, and he said that while negotiations were ongoing and the team was hopeful something would get done, no announcement was imminent.
If the report is true, it can't be anything but good news for the Caps.
After he was acquired from Columbus at the trade deadline for a draft pick Ted Ruth, Fedorov didn't exactly make an immediate impact with the team on the scoresheet. Instead, it was abundantly clear that his veteran presence did have an incredible effect inside the locker room, especially on wingers Alex Ovechkin and Alexander Semin.
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When it came to play on the ice, Fedorov more or less transformed the team's penalty kill, which had been something of a question mark for long stretches during the regular season. Better yet, working with Ovechkin and Semin, Fedorov helped form the top scoring line at the recently completed World Championships where Russia took the Gold Medal.
