Artyukhin’s agent: There was an offer from NHL, but we will sign for SKA

Shumi Babayev, agent of SKA St. Petersburg forward Yevgeni Artyukhin, has confirmed that his client had been offered a move to the NHL, but insisted he would stay at SKA.

«Rumor has it Yevgeni Artyukhin is wanted by Toronto Maple Leafs.»

«I can not name the club, it would be unethical. At least, for now. I can only tell you that it’s a Canadian club and Yevgeni hasn’t played for them before. The offer arrived the day before yesterday. In fact, we were asked not to disclose this information, but somehow it has leaked into the media.»

«Is it true that the contract amount is almost by a half bigger than Artyukhin’s current salary at SKA?»

«No. The contract is bigger, but not much. Not by fifty percent, at least. And the contract was offered for two years rather than a year as it has been reported in one of the sports newspapers.»

«Did you take time to think it over?»

«No. We have let them know that we cannot accept their proposal. There can be no negotiations. We have an absolute agreement with SKA. We wouldn’t break it by ourselves. The contract has not been signed yet, but we will do it on one of these days – tomorrow or the day after tomorrow.»

«Didn’t Yevgeni begin to hesitate upon receiving the offer from the NHL club?»

«The offer was made after we had agreed with SKA. Therefore, there can be no hesitations any more,» Babayev stated in an interview with Sportbox.ru.