Ovechkin, Vasilevskiy and Kucherov Lead Russian Storylines as NHL Season Opens

Russian players are behind several of the main storylines as the NHL season opens on Tuesday 29 September, Kommersant reports. Alexander Ovechkin, by all accounts, is saying goodbye to the league, and the paper writes that his Washington Capitals at last look like a Stanley Cup contender.

Washington will not have the field to themselves. Carolina Hurricanes, winners of the previous Cup, are among the clubs in the chase, and so are Andrei Vasilevskiy and Nikita Kucherov of Tampa Bay Lightning. Vasilevskiy holds the award for the league's best goaltender, Kucherov the one for its best player.

Florida Panthers will try to confirm their status as favourites without Sergei Bobrovsky in goal. They also start without Brad Marchand, who is recovering from August surgery on a lower-body injury. Coach Paul Maurice said earlier this month that the forward will spend October on rehab.

Connor Hellebuyck, the American goaltender who starred at the February Olympics, asked Winnipeg Jets for a trade and did not get one before the regular season. Kommersant says he has since declared something like a strike, and that it is not known where he will end up.

Edmonton Oilers have yet to turn the class of Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl into something on a matching scale.

The paper ties the crowded list of storylines to a busy off-season and to contract sums that have risen with the salary cap. The league now has 35 players on $10m or more a season, up from 20 a year ago.

If the Hellebuyck standoff runs into the season, this may mean Winnipeg open with the question of who plays in goal still unsettled.