Two NHL teams reportedly make offers to Damir Zhafyarov of the KHL

According to sport-express.ru out of Russian, two NHL teams are interested in signing centre Damir Zhafyarov, who has had a great season in the KHL. The 26-year-old, who plays for Nizhny Novgorod Torpedo, has had a breakout season in 2020-21, scoring 20 goals and 38 assists for 58 points in 54 games.

"There is information that Zhafyarov is determined to go to North America. He has offers from Chicago and Detroit," said Sport-Express reporter Nikolai Lemtyugov.

While this season has been the best of his career, Zhafyarov has been steadily improving over the last three. In 2018-19, he put up 30 points (13G, 17A). He upped that total to 37 (17G, 20A) in 2019-20, and then recorded his career year this year.

Zhafyarov represented Russia at the World Junior Hockey Championships in 2013-14, taking home a bronze medal. He's also been a member of the Russian international team on three separate occasions. These sorts of signings can have a major impact for NHL teams. Artemi Panarin was never drafted and made the jump to the NHL after playing several seasons in the KHL. They can also turn out to be a complete bust (Vadim Shipachyov comes to mind immediately). It seems to depend on how the player adapts to playing in North America.

Source: sport-express.ru

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