5 Former New Jersey Devils Who Could Retire This Offseason

Vladimir Zharkov

This one is trying to put the pieces together, but there is some smoke here. Vladimir Zharkov signed a two-year deal with Traktor of the KHL last offseason. After one year, he sounds like he’s on the outs with the club. What does that mean? It seems like it’s too early to tell, but it means something. 

Zharkov did not have a huge impact on the Devils, but he was in New Jersey for a while. He looked like he was going to be an NHL regular in 2011-12 after playing 38 games in 10-11. However, he played just four games in the NHL. The Devils went to the Stanley Cup Final that year, and Zharkov watched from the sidelines. 

It was the only NHL experience Zharkov had before he rushed back off to Russia. Lou Lamoriello gave him a qualifying offer, but it wasn’t enough to keep him in the U.S. He went back to Russia and never came back to play in North America. 

Zharkov played just 33 games last season, and he did not play well. With all the weirdness surrounding his contract, it wouldn’t be a surprise if the 36-year-old hung up his skates. He extended his career by more than a decade by going back to Russia. Now, it looks like it will end there.