Dynamo Moscow continues to lose and Valentenko continues to sit.
Good career choice Pavel.

You won't give up, will you ? Pavel didn't do anything to us personally. Unless we are from the organization itself, he didn't deserve our despise.

Instead of raging against those who are gone, why not rave about those who are coming ?

well if he isnt even playing u wonder why he went there?? u would think at his age all he wants is ice time...

lol playing terrible in russia.

We might never know why he went there. Not a reason to rant forever about the guy personally.

I think the official story is that he went there because he had to, not because he wanted to.

Yes, that's the official story.

In any case, he tried. He left his home, his friends, his family, and gave us one year of his life. If we feel lowballed about losing a prospect, one can only imagine how he must feel after sacrificing one year, and then going back to where he started.

I, for one, was disappointed that he left, but I recognized the fact that he actually tried. I will reserve my judgment on Emelin whose hype is grossly overdone by Pierre Macguire as of now.

What are you, his agent or something?
He gave up a year of his life? We low-balled him?
Nice spin comrade.
Actually,he signed a contract then decided not to honour it.
That is,in fact, what actually happened.
And now he's back in Russia on a terrible team and not even dressing on a regular basis.
I'm hoping that his season with Dynamo Moscow goes horribly, not because I'm upset with him, but instead because if he struggles back home he may re-consider his options for next year.
Either way though, I don't see him ever being a member of the Canadiens after his desertion.
But at least we could trade his rights and hopefully get something back in return.
Just not another Russian.

To NSH:

The rights to Pavel Valentenko

To MTL:

The rights to Alexander Radulov

???

Throw in Korneev too.

He didn't say we low-balled him. He signed a contract and now has an understanding with our management that he will play in Russia as long as his family issues persist. That's why every year after this one is an option year. It's not "desertion". And Korneev is a good player who may still come over, personally I'd be glad to have him.

This is not fact but rather something I was told so take it with a grain of salt...

Apparently, Pavel has been financially supporting a rather large family, somewhere in the ballpark of 15 people, back in Russia.

He was being paid $62,500 cdn to play in the AHL this season and considering the cdn dollar value drop of about 20% from last year that means he was earning closer to $50,000 this season compared to last year. I don't know his salary in Russia but it's a safe bet that he's earning at least 20 times (only 1.25M) that much over there and possibly more.

His decision to leave may not have been his first choice hockey wise but it may have been what was best for him and his family given the very tough financial times the world is seeing right now.

If he felt the need to take care of his family, good for him. There's alot more to life than sticks and pucks when your family needs you.

As I mentioned this is not fact, but he should be given the benefit of the doubt before people start slinging mud at the guy.

Why is there even a thread still on him?

Unless I'm missing something and hes indicated he'll return, he needed money, he went to get money, hes gone, stop crying about it and move on.

well i wish him all the best & if he gets his game together to the point where he can crack the habs line up & make a difference then i will gladly love to see him back. all the best Pavel!!!

You sure are bitter.. Why not another russian?? Not all russians bolt to Russia. Actually, among the best in the NHL, a lot of them are Russians (most points - Malkin, best points/GP - Semin, most points last year - Ovechkin, ...)

Oh well, if he can't log regular minutes in the K.H.L., why would we want him here. We should all just let it go, and focus our attention on more notable prospects like McDonagh, Fischer, Subban, Carle, Weber, Torp, etc. etc. etc. Valentenko made his decision, and we should all forget about him. If somehow, someway, he ever ends up in a Habs' uniform AND is a good N.H.L. calibre hockey player, then it's all just gravy.

Kovalchuk Datsyuk

He's probably not being played there because they probably already have commitments to six other defensemen, plus toughness isn't a relevant skill in the KHL. Geez Komisarek would probably be useless to a KHL team. IMO they just signed him for propaganda purposes.

exactly! seems like the khl feeds off of announcements that they pryed a player from the nhl, whether it's a current player or a prospect

Because he signed an entry level contract and his rights are still owned by Montreal. Until someone can accurately predict the future one never knows how it will turn out.

I was watching a bit of the Spengler Cup game yesterday between Canada and a Czech club team, when the announcer mentioned that Moscow Dynamo was in the tourney this year, so we may get a look at Valentenko in the next few days. That is, of course, if he's dressed.
Does anybody out there know the schedule for upcoming games, specifically the Canada-Dynamo matchup?

On December the 30th at 03:00 p.m. CET which should be 09:00 a.m. Eastern Time.

Thanks for the info Breezy.
Hopefully I'll be able to catch it on the tube, and hopefully Pavel will be in uniform.

Moscow Dynamo defenseman Pavel Valentenko has been placed on injured reserve by the club effective Jan.9th, following a back injury sustained December 31st.
He is expected to be out 4-6 weeks.

Wow, what a disaster of a year for Valentenko it has been.

Luckily for him, he can turn down next year and the year after and come back, seeing as they are option years.

I think?

just come back Pavel...you know you want to.

Do we want him back?

I had high expectations for his training camp this year and he kind of let us down, I think.

I mean, is he prepared to spend another season or more in the AHL working on his game?

The answer is no.
Pavel would be stupid to turn down millions from Dynamo Moscow to accept AHL farm money, and Montreal cannot guarantee him a spot on the big club. It's a Mexican stand-off.

Ditto

the man needed to help out his family. I'd welcome him back if he wants to.

See post #321.