Islanders’ Kirill Petrov Assigned to the KHL

Cory Wright of NHL.com is reporting that the New York Islanders have assigned Kirill Petrov to Ak Bars Kazan of the KHL as of Sunday morning.

Arthur Staple had reported rumblings of this on Friday and after Petrov had played 13 games for the Bridgeport Sound Tigers and tallied only five points, it seemed inevitable. Petrov hardly forced his way into the line-up, but it’s hard to say that either of the parties gave this a real shot. Petrov impressed early in training camp and was one of the final cuts before the season started, but he broke his foot shortly after and failed to impress upon his return.

The winger was drafted in the third round of the 2008 draft and had spent the previous nine seasons in the KHL before signing a one-year, entry-level contract with the Islanders this summer. The most intriguing part of Petrov as an asset was his size – 6’3”, 230 lbs. – and he was still only 25 years old. However, for the Islanders, this was less about Petrov and more about the people they chose over him.

The Islanders are still holding roster spots for Eric Boulton and Jean-Francois Berube, who hold very little use with the Islanders.

We’re not going to cry over the loss of Petrov, after all, despite the report of being “assigned” it seems more likely that this was a reaction to his own decision to leave. However, we will cry to see Boulton take a spot on the Islanders roster over more capable players like Taylor Beck, Mike Halmo or even Petrov.

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This may simply be trying to keep the more capable players playing until they’re needed with the big league squad, but we’ve already seen Boulton suit up once this season and 10 times last season.

As for Petrov, the Islanders will likely continue to hold his rights, but it’s unlikely that his name will become relevant in the NHL again.