Photo: Anthony J. Caus/NY Post

Unrestricted free agent Nikolai Zherdev remains a man without a team as August draws to a close and NHL teams prepare to open their training camps on September 12th.

For the past few weeks, the former New York Ranger has been preparing for the upcoming season in Moscow with Atlanta Thrashers captain Ilya Kovalchuk and Ottawa Senators prospect Ilya Zubov, under the watchful eye of Kovalchuk’s long-time trainer Alexander Troshin.

Sovietsky Sport’s Pavel Lycenkov was on hand at the trio’s training session last week with the assignment of interviewing Kovalchuk for a feature that will appear in Tuesday’s paper (see it online here).  Before he talked with Russia’s likely Olympic team captain, Lycenkov took a moment to ask Zherdev if he’d found himself a new team yet.  The 24-year old forward simply shook his head, replying “negotiations are ongoing.”

In his story, Lycenkov also mentions rumors connecting Zherdev to Kovalchuk’s club in Atlanta.  Those rumors first appeared in the Russian press over the weekend, starting on Sports.ru and later appearing in Sport-Express.  Both outlets attributed the Atlanta Journal-Constitution as the source for their information.  The Sport-Express article even provided a quote, which comes from a post on the AJC blog Ice Man – A fan’s perspective of the Thrashers.  The post, about Thrasher center Todd White, includes the following line, which serves as the basis for both Russian stories: “However, if certain rumors are true and Atlanta brings in, say, Nikolai Zherdev…then that would shuffle things around on the top two lines. Kovy, Antropov and Zherdev could very well be your first line…”

This wouldn’t be the first time that a Zherdev rumor raced around the the globe, picking up strength and validity as it crossed the ocean.  So when you read reports in the North American press on Tuesday citing Russian sources for a rumor stating the Trashers are interested in Zherdev, keep in mind where the scuttlebutt started.

Photo: CSKA Moscow

Mikhail Pashnin’s CSKA Moscow fell 5-3 to Finland’s Espoo Blues in the bronze metal game at the 2009 Red Bull Salute on Sunday, earning a disappointing fourth place finish in the preseason exhibition tournament.

Pashnin furthered his bid for a roster spot when CSKA kicks off its regular season in a week and a half with another strong performance.  The New York Rangers 2009 seventh round pick played a prominent role on defense, receiving significant playing time in all situations — including some on the power play.  The 20-year old defenseman also showed a bit of an offensive flair that hadn’t been evident in the tournament’s previous two games, driving to the net with the puck and pinching in on the play a few times.

On the down side, Pashnin was on the ice for two power play goals against — one a 5-on-3 against and both during a major boarding call against Denis Kulyash in the second period.  The goals broke the game open and gave the Blues a lead they’d never relinquish.  Pashnin earned a minor boarding call of his own midway through the third, but the hit that earned him the penalty call was a beautiful shoulder check along the boards in front of the benches that probably shouldn’t have been whistled.  The Blues scored on the ensuing power play, but the goal was waved off for reasons that weren’t clear from the live feed.

CSKA returns to Moscow on Monday for their final preseason warm-up, the Mayor’s Cup, which kicks off on Thursday.

New York Rangers 2009 seventh round draft pick Mikhail Pashnin played his second game at the 2009 Red Bulls Salute invitational tournament on Saturday, and came away with player of the game honors for CSKA Moscow in a 4-2 loss.

After seeing somewhat limited playing time in CSKA’s 4-2 victory over the ZSC Lions on Friday, the 20-year rookie defenseman saw his ice time increase on Saturday, in part because Phoenix Coyotes prospect and fellow defenseman Maxim Goncharov was ejected from the game early in the first period for dropping the gloves with host team Red Bulls Salzburg’s Mike Siklenka.

Pashnin earned that ice time by playing a physical game that belied his 5-foot 10½, 188-pound frame and showing great poise with the puck in his own zone — not necessarily a characteristic you’d expect of a rookie who’s just four games into his first exhibition season in Russia’s top league.  He was particularly noticeable on the penalty kill, where he performed admirably on a couple of 5-on-3 opportunities against. While the Chelyabinsk native showed little in the way off offensive upside, his poise, skating and strong first pass make him a player with far more potential than his seventh round draft pick status would suggest.

That’s not to say he played a perfect game; the young blueliner finished a -1, the result of Salzburg forward Steven Reiger’s ability to swat the puck towards the goal as Pashnin was muscling him out of the crease at 14:43 of the first period. The puck deflected off the back of Moscow goaltender Nolan Schaefer (24 saves) and trickled over the goal line to give the Red Bulls a 3-0 lead.  (Aside: Schaefer was faced at the opposite end of the ice by former Ranger property and Wolf Pack netminder David LeNeveu (27 saves), who joined the organization at the tail end of the 2007-2008 season after being aquired in the trade that sent Al Montoya to the desert.

CSKA were able to fight back to within a goal with eight minutes to play in the third, but a pair of back-to-back penalties put the club down two men for the third time in the game. When the inevitable happened and Salzburg took a 4-2 lead, head coach Sergei Nemchinov made his feelings known to the referee, earning himself an early ticket to the locker room.  More craziness followed: with 13 seconds left to play New Jersey Devils 2000 second round draft pick Alexander Suglobov squared off with Ontario native Kelsey Wilson. With the linesmen between the players, Suglobov, on his back on the ice, lifted his leg and kicked at Wilson as the Salzburg forward was getting up, connecting with his shoulder and missing his face by inches.  Suglobov, as you’d expect, followed his coach to the dressing room, having earned a match penalty for kicking.

As a result of the loss, CSKA will face the Espoo Blues in a battle for third place on Sunday.  That gives Rangers fans one more chance to catch Pashnin in action, at 10am (EDT) (live feed).  Host team Salzburg will face Sparta Prague in the final for the tournament title later in the afternoon, at 1:30pm (EDT).  For more information, see the 2009 Red Bull Salute web site.