I thought he was trending towards a reliable, tough, hard-hitting bottom 6-er? Can someone explain what has gone wrong in his development?
In his heart he is an AHL 1st line skilled player trapped inside the body of an NHL 4th line grinder. He just can't seem to consistently play the sort of game he needs to in order to stay up, even though one out of every five games or so he does flash a bit of what he could be.
He turns 26 in June, and he is a pending RFA a year removed from UFA, certainly no multi-year extension coming. He is a dual Canadian-Russian citizen, and his mother is a former Soviet olympian. He may qualify for a KHL spot without being considered an "import" (despite being born and living his entire pre-professional career in Canada). Dunno if he has family there/speaks the language, but I could see that as an option for him next season.