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Yesterday the National Hockey League (NHL) unit Ottawa “Senators” has announced the conclusion of a one-year contract with Latvian striker Rūdolfs Balcerers. The amount of the contract is 735 thousand US dollars for one season, but if a hockey player is sent to a farm club in the American Hockey League (AHL), then the salary will drop to 70 thousand dollars. Ottawa risks nothing by signing the striker on a two-way contract for little money, but for Balcer himself it could be a warning that it’s time to show a more stable performance.
Rudy is back! pic.twitter.com/Qj1LT5L7kw
— Ottawa Senators (@Senators) October 16, 2020
Injury prevents “Senators” from gaining ground
Before the 2019/2020 season, the striker trained with the Ottawa club and it was planned that from the first game Balcers will be in the rank of “Senators”. The plans were thwarted by an injury in the pre-season camp, due to which the Latvian started the season a little later and also at a lower level – Beleville’s “Senators”. AHL Liepaja showed a commendable performance – in 19 games in the ranks of “Senators” farm club he scored eight goals and gave 16 assists. Time passed, the NHL called others while Balcers patiently waited for his opportunity until he finally waited for it, leaving the field against the Florida Panthers on January 2 this year, spending 13:12 minutes on the field and earning a utility of -1.
“He has accumulated a lot of performance points in the AHL, now he has to prove himself in the NHL, he has to show that he can threaten the opponents’ goals at a higher level. At the same time, Balcer must be able to play without a puck, “said Senator head coach Dennis Smith. Unfortunately, the attacker of the Latvian national team was not very successful in threatening the opponents’ goals. During the season, playing in the second shift at some moments, Balcers threw one in 15 games naked and gave two passes.
In mid-January, Balcer was returned to Beleville, where he spent more than a month. The Latvian clearly demonstrated that he has already exceeded the AHL level – 36 (16 + 10) points have been accumulated in 33 games. At the same time, he lacks the stability to play regularly at the NHL level. The question is whether Rudolf will be able to take the next step in his growth, strengthening even in the fourth shift. Ideally, of course, above, but most importantly – avoid playing in a farm club.
The risk is minimal
As already mentioned, the Senator is the biggest winner of this deal. Namely, a potential NHL hockey player was obtained for even a little less money than he was paid last year – in the 2019/2020 season, Balcer’s contract provided for remuneration of 792.5 thousand dollars for playing in the NHL, while AHL figures remained unchanged – 70 thousand, which in general is a small amount for an NHL club. The previous season ended in March, but a new contract was signed only in October – Balcer had to wait a long time.
Now, if the attacker is unable to establish himself in Ottawa, he will simply be sent to the AHL. If he plays at the level of his first season, when 14 (5 + 9) points have been scored in 36 matches, then the actions of “Senators” will be a good hockey player, while Balcers himself, taking into account a one-season contract, will be able to claim a bigger contract with no comment. two-way ”, which shows a kind of mistrust. Although in the politically correct NHL it will definitely be called something else. I don’t think that this is the last chance for a Latvian – he is only 23 years old and in fact his whole career is still ahead.
Balcers can also be used by the Senators as an exchange asset – currently in Ottawa is being rebuilt and there is a possibility that the composition of the team will change significantly at the beginning of the season. We remember how the Latvian arrived in Ottawa – it was an exchange deal between “Senators” and “Sharks” in San Jose with the participation of several hockey players. At the same time a little confusing the amount of the contract – Balcers was a limited free agent, which means that there was no particularly great interest from other units for him.
Interest from KHL club, expert thinking about “Sabers”
During the summer, information appeared several times that one of the clubs of the Continental Hockey League (KHL) is showing interest in Balcer. Its representatives have even contacted the hockey player, but Rudolf himself has clearly answered that his priority is to continue playing in the NHL. There is no doubt that at the KHL level, an attacker would look very solid, especially if he enters a higher level team. Remembering Balcer’s performance in two world championships, we can conclude that he would definitely be noticeable in KHL.
In the summer, an interesting idea was allowed by NHL expert Jordan Danshan. He said the Senators could swap Buffalo Sabers, represented by Zemgus Girgenson, to move Balcers from Canada to the United States. The plan was for defender Brandon Montur and striker Marcus Davidson to go to the “Sens”, while the Buffalo club could win not only Balcer, but also the second and fifth round choices of this year’s draft.
“Buffalo has a lot of right-wing defenders and Montour’s departure would reduce their number,” Dessan writes. At the same time, Sabers would receive a prospectus [Balceru], which will immediately begin the best years of his hockey career. He has the potential to play as a winger in the second shift, and choosing the second round in the draft “Sabers” would be useful, “the journalist said.
There are a lot of questions about next season, so it’s not really clear what Balcer should do now. Without a contract, he could not go to Europe, but now that the contract is in his pocket, it would be useful for a Latvian to play somewhere to get a game practice. Otherwise, given the long break, he may not be ready for the start of the NHL season again. It is not excluded that for a few months Balcers will swim in one of the European leagues, as has already been done by Rodrigo Ābols, Kristiāns Rubīns and some other Latvian hockey players from North America.
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