The common reaction a year ago when reports surfaced that Vladimir Sobotka was leaving the Blues to play in the Kontinental Hockey League was that he was bluffing.
Sobotka and the Blues were at an impasse in contract negotiations, and because he was a restricted free agent the club held his rights and thus the leverage. His only upper hand was the possibility of him playing outside the National Hockey League.
It turned out that Sobotka was not bluffing, signing a three-year deal with Avangard Omsk (in Russia) worth a reported $12-plus million. In the first year of that deal, he finished with 10 goals and 38 points in 53 games.