Galiyev joins Shipachyov and Voynov. Last week’s top transfers

Galiyev returns to Kazan, Salavat Yulaev found a replacement for Larsen, and Torpedo gets assets after trading Chekhovich. KHL.ru presents last week’s top transfers.

Stanislav Galiyev

From Dynamo Moscow to Ak Bars

Two months have passed since Dynamo sent its leaders to Kazan for a token sum. It was thought that Stanislav Galiyev, along with Vadim Shipachyov and Vyacheslav Voynov, would also move to Ak Bars. However, the Blue-and-Whites decided to get a much more tangible compensation for their best sniper. We’ll talk about that later. In fact, Galiyev returns to the Kazan club, but not to Dmitry Kvartalnov, and in the company of a top center. There is no guarantee, however, that the Galiyev-Shipachyov tandem will remain in place with the move from Moscow to Kazan. Oleg Znarok will have a great choice of left wings in the first unit who can play with the best center in the league. Dmitry Kagarlitsky has played with Vadim longer and with no less success than Galiyev.  It's time to remember the old truth that competition drives progress.

Jordan Weal

From Ak Bars to Dynamo Moscow

Unlike other internationals at the Kazan club who went home before the playoffs or immediately after the season, Jordan Weal was ready to honor his contract until the end. But the Ak Bars management had other plans. The Kazan boards sacrificed Weal to bring Galiyev back. Was that trade really worthwhile? On the one hand, the Russian had a better season last season according to all numbers. On the one hand, the Canadian didn’t have a partner nearby like Shipachyov. If Stanislav is a great player, but quite dependent from his partners, then Jordan as a playmaker is capable of generating his own chances. In the here and now, Dynamo, whose first center on paper is Vladislav Kodola, needs that more. Weal can play both center and wing, and if another Canadian, Eric O’Dell, will actually return to Moscow, the Blue-and-Whites will have a potentially powerful bunch of compatriots.

Denis Yan

From Grand Rapids (AHL) to Torpedo

When Torpedo traded Ivan Chekhovich to Lokomotiv, the compensation for one of the Nizhny Novgorod leaders looked rather ephemeral. Only young forward Aleksandr Daryin went in the opposite direction, as well as the rights to several players then playing in North America. For Larionov’s squad, turning those minutes into actual additions was no easy task. GM Maxim Gafurov made the first serious step in that direction last week. This move was not a standard one. Instead of persuading Vladislav Firstov or Maxim Letunov to return home, Torpedo achieved a contract with American forward Denis Yan who, however, does have Russian roots. Born in the U.S., he started his career with the Vympel hockey academy in Moscow and played for CSKA-97 with Nikita Korostelyov and Pavel Karnaukhov, but began his professional career in North America. Yan, later choosing to play for the American national team, was a standout forward at the junior level and even won the U17 WHC in 2013-2014. However, he failed to play in the NHL by the age of 25. Partly because Denis was drafted by Tampa, where the concentration of talented offensive players is sky-high. It is symbolic that the Russian-American forward goes to Detroit’s legend Igor Larionov.

Ryan Murphy

From Grand Rapids (AHL) to Salavat Yulaev

In recent months, Salavat Yulayev has gone through several global changes. For many years, international players were leaders in Ufa. Since the days of Linus Omark, Ufa had a striking imports squad, with elite foreigners in other lines as well. The Bashkortostan franchise played last year’s playoffs with an exclusively Russified lineup, however, which surprised even some neutral fans. It seemed as if their core, forged through injury and elimination games, was ready to go into next season without any international help. Last week, however, Ufa decided to sign Ryan Murphy, who played side-to-side with Denis Yan in last year’s AHL. Murphy spent half a season in Minsk and an entire season in Nizhnekamsk, after which he offered complimentary comments about Russia and the Russian league in the North American press. It is interesting that the Canadian has already played in Ufa, but not for Salavat Yulaev – with his national team at the U18 WJC. He even scored to Team Russia in the bronze medal game, but in overtime he couldn’t prevent Valery Nichushkin tally the game-winner. That’s the thing about Murphy. As a right-handed attacking defenseman, he should replace Philip Larsen, who also compensated for his less-than-reliable defensive play with offensive zone creativity. It remains to find a replacement for Teemu Hartikainen and Co, but the goalkeeping squad of Salavat Yulayev will definitely come from domestic producers.

Alex Grant

From Jokerit to SKA

The situation in St. Petersburg was similar to that in Ufa. The only difference was that even though SKA had six or seven foreigners in their roster in recent years, they were not the team’s leading players. The only place to draw parallels is the fact that SKA, just like Salavat Yulaev, is starting to build a new roster from scratch. They’ve also chosen a Canadian blueliner as their first piece of the puzzle. Alex Grant, like Ryan Murphy, has already plenty of past KHL experience. He spent the last four seasons in Helsinki, next door to St. Petersburg, and once even represented Jokerit in the KHL All-Star Game. In addition to the fact that Grant can help Igor Ozhiganov tightening up the blue line on the power play, the 33-year-old stands out for his vast experience, right-hand play, and size.

Nick Ebert

From Orebro (SHL) to Avtomobilist

The trend of acquiring North American, right-handed defensemen was also supported in Yekaterinburg. The 28-year-old American, just like Murphy and Grant, is not entirely new to the KHL. He was introduced to the league in the 2017-2018 season, when he played 44 games for HC Slovan. But in Bratislava, Nick Ebert didn’t look as bright as he did in SHL side Orebro. He played three and a half years with a break there, and finished last season as one of the top five defensemen in the Swedish league. In different years the media called him a potential newcomer to Torpedo and Sibir, but Ebert landed in Avtomobilist, where usually international players represent North America countries. What else does link Nick and Russia? Once, the Ural franchise’s newly signed D-man was part of a deal that resulted in Russian forward Vladislav Namestnikov switching teams from New York to Ottawa.