Mykola Olehovych "Nikolay" Zherdev (; born November 5, 1984) is a Ukrainian-Russian professional ice hockey right winger who is currently playing for the Alleghe Hockey of the Italian Hockey League.
He previously played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Columbus Blue Jackets, New York Rangers and Philadelphia Flyers.
Playing career
Early career
Born in Kiev, Ukraine, Zherdev began playing hockey at the age of four. He began his training with the Sokil Kyiv junior hockey affiliate. Due to complications with organizing a team for his age group, he was pushed to play a year ahead with the 1983 born players; a group which included fellow future Ukrainian NHLer Anton Babchuk. Zherdev played in the 1998 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with his youth team from Kyiv. While playing in the tournament, Zherdev's team found itself competing against a team from Elektrostal, Russia. The rival team's coach, Ravil Iskhakov, took note of both Zherdev and Babchuk, and invited the pair to further their development with the Elemash Elektrostal hockey club of the Russian Major League, to which they accepted together. The desire to play at a higher level came at a price: his nationality. In order to play in Russia, he would be forced to apply for Russian citizenship.
CSKA Moscow
As his game progressed and professional teams began to take notice, Elektrostal received offers from the likes of Lokomotiv Yaroslavl, Ak Bars Kazan, and CSKA Moscow for Zherdev's services. He would accept an invitation for Elektrostal to loan him to the latter team, CSKA, citing a desire to train under esteemed coach Viktor Tikhonov.
Following being drafted by the Columbus Blue Jackets, Zherdev spent the entire 2002–03 season with CSKA, but in a controversial decision, he left for the NHL halfway through the 2003–04 season. He would, however, return to the Russian club during the 2004–05 NHL lockout, making peace.
Columbus Blue Jackets
Zherdev was drafted by Columbus in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft with the fourth overall pick. At the time, Columbus general manager Doug MacLean stated that the team had Zherdev ranked number one on their draft list. The 2005–06 NHL season was a breakout year for Zherdev, who scored 27 goals and notched 27 assists in 73 games. He was the Blue Jackets' most potent offensive threat while Rick Nash recuperated from injury, and played most of the season on the team's first line.
The 2006–07 NHL season was a low point for Zherdev, as he struggled to score consistently and frequently clashed with the Jackets' coaching staff, leading to repeated rumors that he might be traded before the 2007–08 NHL season began. In response, Blue Jackets General Manager Scott Howson and then-coach Ken Hitchcock met Zherdev in a "clean-the-slate" meeting. Following the meeting, Zherdev rediscovered success on the ice.
Contract dispute
Contract negotiations with Blue Jackets management following the 2005–06 season became acrimonious. Zherdev threatened to remain in Russia for the season unless his demands were met, while Columbus insisted that Zherdev's salary demands were not commensurate with his accomplishments. On September 28, 2006, the parties finally agreed to a $7.5 million, three-year contract.
New York Rangers
On July 2, 2008, Zherdev was traded by the Blue Jackets along with Dan Fritsche to the New York Rangers for defencemen Fedor Tyutin and Christian Bäckman. In his first season with the Rangers, Zherdev tied for the team lead in points with Scott Gomez, scoring 58 points.
As a restricted free agent, Zherdev was tendered a qualifying offer of $3.25 million by the Rangers before the start of the 2009 free agency period so the team could retain his rights as the two sides negotiate. Zherdev was awarded $3.9 million (USD) in arbitration, however, the New York Rangers chose to let Zherdev go.
KHL
The aforementioned walkaway made Zherdev an unrestricted free agent. Zherdev signed on September 15, 2009, a one-year contract for Atlant Moscow Oblast.