The NHL Legend of Andrew 'The Hamburgler' Hammond comes to an end
The National Hockey League is one of the only sports leagues left in the world the operates under a hard salary cap, a cap, that hasn't moved much since 2022, due to obvious circumstances. As such, fringe NHLers are defecting to the KHL at a rate higher than normal and it doesn't look like that trend will be ending anytime soon.
According to Traktor Chelyabinsk of the KHL, they have signed goaltender Andrew Hammond to a one-year deal for 2022-23 season.
Hammond, 34, rose to fame in with the Ottawa Senators during the 2014-15 season in which he won 20 of the 24 games he played in, propelling the Sens on a miraculous stretch run. However since then, he's seen very limited NHL action. Last season he played in just 11 games split between the Montreal Canadiens and New Jersey Devils compiling a 4-5-1 record.
Hammond joins what's become a lengthy list of players that have defected to the KHL this off-season. A trend I imagine that is concerning to the NHL's top brass. How many more will go overseas? Is there a problem with the game in North America? This trend would suggest so.
| POLL | ||
Will the Ottawa Senators make the playoffs this year? | ||
| Yes, in the Atlantic | 45 | 41.7 % |
| Yes, as a Wild Card team | 30 | 27.8 % |
| No, not this year | 33 | 30.6 % |
| List of polls | ||
