We now know how much Hudler will be worth should he decide to return to to the NHL after one or two years in Russia: $2.75 million in his first year back, and $3 million in his second. Assuming the KHL doesn’t take a toll on his production potential, those are pretty reasonable numbers for the Wings to face down the road. If he proceeds to light it up in the KHL, they’ll look even better.

The Wings and Hudler’s agent reportedly reached the  deal just before the arbitration hearing last week, but went through with the process anyway. Apparently, Hudler was concerned the KHL might not look favorably on him negotiating a deal with the Wings when their stance has been he was available for poaching as an unsigned RFA. So, having received a deal from the arbitrator, his on-hold contract in the NHL should be kosher to a league that’ll do what it wants regardless.

That should mark the end of the high-concentration coverage of the Hudler saga for at least the next 10-11 months. I do, though, hope to see some updates on his KHL stint from the media so we can get a better understanding of how he’s doing over there than is possible to glean from checking his stats.

I’m very interested in keeping track of him over the coming seasaon, because my working theory on Hudler is that he won’t be able to replicate his production in a system other than Detroit’s.

He was able to rack up points on small ice time with the Wings because everyone on the team is able to play some variation on the puck possession style, even his usually bottom-end linemates. On a less skilled team, he’ll be forced to dig the puck out of the boards more, and that’s where his size will put him at a real disadvantage. He has enough slick puck ability to make up some of the difference, but that’s where you hit the other side of Jiri Hudler: his apparent trouble handling greater responsibility.

Without doing the research and running the numbers, to my memory, Hudler seemed to have trouble when he got rewarded for low-TOI production with extra ice time. He thrives in limited doses, but has yet to rise to a true top six-minutes guy with the Wings.

There’s also the fact that he won’t be facing other teams’ third or fourth liners with the same regularity as he did in Detroit. The KHL’s top end skill my not match the NHLs’ but that will be a new challenge to Hudler to meet, assuming he gets top line slotting over there.

It’s possible that in the KHL (on the bigger surface, where he can more easily put his skill to use) he’ll answer the bell, but I have a hard time seeing him succeed in an environment other than that provided by the Wings. He’s a strong fit here, with a team of players that can create space and get him the puck off the wall. Elsewhere? I’m not convinced. All of this would apply, in my mind, if he were going to another NHL team, by the way.

All that said, I wish him the best of luck, and hope he can find thee leadership role he’s seeking. I hope I’m wrong.