Alex Radulov’s contract with Predators makes NHL return tricky

Ever since he bolted for the KHL and started a mini-war between the NHL and the Russian league, Alexander Radulov has won everything imaginable playing for Salavat Yulaev. He is the reigning KHL MVP, won the Gagarin Cup last year and has become one of the faces of the League. But the question is still being asked: Will he come back to the NHL? I made a case before the start of the season that it was very possible that we'd see him back in Nashville this season. While that's not going to happen after all, there are more and more signs that he will indeed come back to the NHL next summer to make the Predators, who are already a solid team, even better. There will be no hard feelings in Nashville about him coming back, at least not in the locker room. Pekka Rinne said the following to me recently when I asked him how players would react if Radulov came back: "We, players, never speak about this topic. I think everyone has put it behind. He made his choice at the time and h...