Former NHL player costs himself millions after alcohol abuse reportedly leads to his contract being terminated
Substance abuse isn't anything to make light of, but unfortunately even for professional hockey players it's an ongoing struggle. The most recent player to run into issues is reportedly former NHLer Nikita Gusev. Gusev has been playing in the KHL the past two seasons with St. Petersburg SKA putting up over a point per game. This season he was dominant scoring 23 goals and 49 points in 37 games.
The news coming out today that the team and 30 year old Gusev have agreed to terminate his contract are shocking. The rumors will swirl as to why the team would be so eager to part ways with their 4th leading scorer from this season.
Reports have dated back months that Gusev has had an issue with alcohol, which led to him being removed from the lineup for multiple games.
Nikita Gusev was benched last game in the third period and he'll miss the next game
Per MatchTV, he apparently has an ongoing drinking problem
I find this hard to believe with the numbers he put up but, if true, hope he gets the help he needs #KHL
Gusev arrived in the NHL with plenty of hype. He lived up to it in his first campaign, scoring 44 points in 66 games with the New Jersey Devils during the 2019-20 season. Unfortunately for Gusev he failed to replicate those numbers and after two more seasons of bouncing around the league he went back to his home country in Russia.
Gusev led the Olympic Athletes of Russia to a gold medal at the 2018 Winter Games in Pyeongchang, leading the team with 12 points in six contests.
Fans will wonder whether Gusev is going to give the NHL another shot or if he will be staying in the KHL.
| POLL | ||
Who is the most talented Russian to fail to produce in the NHL? | ||
| Nikita Gusev | 21 | 9.7 % |
| Nail Yakupov | 158 | 72.8 % |
| Nikita Filatov | 13 | 6 % |
| Nikolai Zherdev | 25 | 11.5 % |
| List of polls | ||
