DETROIT – Yep, I am still writing about whether or not Pavel Datsyuk will return to the Detroit Red Wings.
If it were any other player, I might have dropped this a long time ago, and you wouldn't be reading this. But it's the "Magic Man," and he deserves our attention.
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That's why when his agent says a bunch of stuff to Russian media about Datsyuk's possible return to the NHL, everyone scurries to translate it on Google.
Here's the bullet points on what agent Dan Milstein told MatchTV about Datsyuk:
- Datsyuk, 40, is not done playing hockey any time soon. He wants to keep playing, whether that's in the KHL, where he's currently playing in his 3rd season with St. Petersburg SKA, or back in the NHL.
- If he does decide to return to the NHL, it would have to be with the Red Wings. "It would be right to return precisely to Detroit," is how it translates. "His skill and vision of the game has not disappeared anywhere ... It would be nice and right for Pasha to return to North America."
- The decision is up to Datsyuk, his agent said.
That final bullet point sort of leaves the door open for pretty much anything. However, it does suggest Datsyuk will sign where he gets a good, comfortable offer, whether it's in Russia or North America.
He left the Red Wings and the continent after the 2015-16 season -- technically his contract was traded to Arizona. He's been playing for St. Petersburg SKA in the KHL ever since. The team won the KHL championship in 2017.
Datsyuk has 34 points in 44 games played for SKA this season. Because he's still such a force on the ice in the Russian league, and because people miss him so much in North America, rumors of his return inevitably have been swirling pretty much since he left Detroit in 2016. The rumors especially picked up after his SKA teammate Ilya Kovalchuk returned to the NHL this past summer when he signed with the Los Angeles Kings.
This latest report out of Russia is quite different from a TSN report just a month ago. In December, Milstein told TSN's Bob McKenzie that he heard talk about Datsyuk considering a return to North America, and that it's not something they had even talked about.
“Every year we sit down and talk about options but (returning to the) NHL isn’t something he has entertained," Milstein told McKenzie.
Apparently they are talking about it now.
Could the Red Wings pass up on Datsyuk?
I don't know if I could. Let's face it: If what his agent says about his skill holding up is true, he would be first or second-line center on the Red Wings for at least another two seasons. That's not impossible to imagine. It's not clear if that says more about the current state of the Red Wings or how well Datsyuk is aging, or both.
Meanwhile, we can only dream and re-watch highlights from the "Magic Man's" NHL career: