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AW13 · 02-05-2021, 05:56 PM

Rikki Lands Deal in Minny

Once left to the wolves, Rikki Petrov has signed on with the Minnesota Monarchs on a one year deal worth an estimated $3,000,000. Petrov negotiated with a few different teams including his former Edmonton but was enticed by the offer of joining the Monarch's organization and saw a potential home though nothing is set in stone ever in the SHL. While Minnesota did make the most attractive dollar value offer, Rikki will again find himself playing for the Vancouver Whalers which is okay to him and he was expecting as much to play in the SMJHL again for at least another season. Rikki had a lot of different offers from the SHL and the SHL (In Sweden) but decided to take a shot at a young team in the SHL to try and carve out a role on the ice and at least show a franchise he might be worth an investment. Rikki did receive an offer to potentially play on a 3rd line in the SHL but was also told that it would just be a one-year deal and that the team did not consider Petrov as a future asset so it would have just been a contract to replace an old non-developing player instead of for a franchise that potentially wanted to see something in Rikki. Petrov is still very young and still developing his skills on the ice so playing down is likely the best option and playing 3rd line for a bottom dwelling team is likely not going to aid his development any.

Now, Minnesota may be a similar case and it could just be a one-year option and likely Rikki Petrov will have to determine what his future is like as well. While Minnesota may or may not want him to extend a contract, he also has to look at where he can go to develop the best and play his best hockey. Upon negotiating with Minnesota, their deal was the only one that had noted a "possible extension" which leaves room for interpretation but hearing that, it felt less of a pity contract and more of a prove it sort of deal to Rikki and that is more of what he wanted. If the Monarchs come and say, "Hey, we have no room to offer any kind of extension," then it is no hard feelings, Rikki is here to play hockey and show he can be a worthwhile investment!

Now, talking as me, I am super happy to have received a deal to play in Minnesota and at least join the locker room and meet some new people around the league. I am also super happy about the ability to stay down and play for the Whalers again while I continue to develop and hopefully get Rikki to a more advanced level in his development. There are people in my regression class that are nearly 200 TPE ahead of me and I never thought that I would keep up with the best of the best but I do think I am doing okay. Fighting money issues along with some time away during the season of course never helps but hey, I can usually make some decent players and I am around in general so that is a good thing right?

I can't really speculate what is going to happen with my time in Minnesota and I don't know if it will be just a one-year deal or multi-year or anything along those lines. I believe I will have one future season that I could play down in the SMJHL and that may be the play, to finish out a full SMJHL career before making that next move in my SHL career here and that is okay. I would also assume that there may be another expansion within the next couple seasons as well so that could always throw a wrench into things and hey, could even extend a career with the Monarchs if they had to get rid of some old players in expansion or something but who knows at this point right? If I had to guess, maybe I end up some day on an expansion team but again, who knows?

Minnesota has an interesting center situation which was not really a deterrent but it does make me think about what the future team and my prospects and abilities of staying there are. They have 2 young centers that are good earners in Strongo and Berni and right now, I am not sure exactly who they are playing at center also but was told an old, slowly regressing winger playing center so I assume Gibbles or Gallagher but with Gallagher retiring, must be Gibbles right? Now, here is where it gets interesting. Obviously Berni and Strongo are the 1st and 2nd liners for the foreseeable future unless they leave or are traded so any hope of top 2 lines at the center position is a long shot in Minnesota but who knows what could happen, not me. Rikki being 3 years younger than Berni, there could be an opening at least for a couple seasons but considering the timelines, I don't see it much as a regressing Berni will still likely be around the same TPE level as me even in a prime year. So, Minnesota either looks like a 3rd line center spot long term or playing on the wing or having someone else play the wing. Rikki is really only going to be a good center in my opinion with how I am planning on building him so he needs some good complements to his playmaking, defensive style on the wings. Petrov is a gifted passer and putting him alongside some talented scorers can make for a great line. Things can always change but I would need to give deep thoughts into whether I wanted more for Rikki. Honestly, I really just want to win a cup, so I am okay with a lesser role if that is the future. I got so close with Leitner but unfortunately just could not win the big games.

I do see the future being a lot brighter for Rikki Petrov in the SHL and I think his development period is really just starting, albeit late. I have a banker job now that I have been learning and hopefully doing a solid job so will have some more consistent season money coming in. I am also a WJC GM which has been a fun experience so far with British Isles being 4-3 right now and that will also bring in some money as well and hopefully an opportunity for the great guys on that team to win a medal! I have done a couple articles within the last couple weeks which is rare and while maybe it does not seem like a big deal, I changed my username to reflect the one username I use in all my other sim leagues and one that copies my discord username as well. While it may not seem like a big deal, the reason I never did is because I never thought I would be able to make up for the $1M spent on a username change and instead decided that a training or even 2 500k trainings was more worthwhile so I just never did it. Now, with a new username, a couple new jobs, and a desire to keep Rikki Petrov alive and kicking, the future can be very bright even as I sit 200 TPE behind. Hopefully I can produce enough media and stuff to be able to get some SHL training or equipment, I am not sure exactly what it is called here but yeah, let's not get too far ahead of ourselves!

For now, I will focus on dominating for the Whalers and showing Minnesota and the rest of the league why Rikki Petrov is going to be a valuable commodity now and in the future!

DeletedAtUserRequest · 02-05-2021, 07:27 PM

Great move by Minny..

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KlusteR · 02-11-2021, 12:30 AM

Very well written article, and pretty spot on! Scouts had already been following Rikki's development in Vancouver, as he and Slimey Snail (and now, Johnny Shuffleboard!) were teammates on the S56 Four Star Championship team, and we're happy to have locked him up, even if only for a season. There's a spot on next season's line-up up for grabs for him, and it's up to him to show us he can take the big step into the SHL, which - by all accounts - is definitely feasible.

For the record, our current 1st line center is Mika Mayfield - you'll love her, she's a sweetheart Wink

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