Everyone can appreciate Vladimir Sobotka's face off numbers (61.9% in 2013-2014). He was not a defensive liability. He was a solid skater. And he also wound up in situations that he had no business being placed in, such as the power play or the top two lines. He was Ken Hitchcock's spark plug, and being inserted into situations that were intended for players with a higher skill set inflated his self-worth (monetarily speaking). He wanted three million during last season's free agency, Doug Armstrong and the arbitrator suggested $2.7 million, and Sobotka left the NHL to play tax-free for the KHL's Avangard Omsk.
Vladimir Sobotka Will Stay In KHL, Won't Return To Blues For Now
