The issue came up for Oilers No.1 pick Nail Yakupov, who reached agreement to play for hometown KHL club Neftekhimik. The 2012 first overall selection must wait along with Kovalchuk, Evgeni Malkin and Sergei Gonchar for transfer cards to be issued. The hold up is anyone’s guess. The NHL holds all the cards when it comes to dealings with the IIHF. Something Chesnokov alluded to. Imagine if the league decided against their players participating in European leagues just out of bitterness. I don’t think they’d really go that far but can you really trust them? Here’s an excerpt from Puck Daddy on the current situation.

“The IIHF is not allowing Yakupov to play. The transfer card has not been sent from Switzerland (the IIHF headquarters),” Neftekhimik director Rafik Yakubov told Sovetsky Sport’s Pavel Lysenkov.

“I can’t even imagine what this is related to. Perhaps the international hockey federation doesn’t want to feud with the NHL and is waiting when they receive an approval from there. The negotiations are ongoing and we were told that there will be no requests. So, Nail cannot play against Torpedo. He is already in Nizhnekamsk, practicing with the team and is ready to play even tomorrow.”

Hopefully, the delay is only temporary. With limited options for locked out players, they should be able to play whereever they choose. Not everyone is committing just yet with almost the entire Ranger roster choosing to rent out the club’s facility just for practices. They’re not allowed to use any other aspect such as the gym.

While Rick Nash agreed to play for HC Davos in the Swiss League, Carl Hagelin is expected to return home to play in Sweden. Nothing has been confirmed.