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Sabres and 44-year old 1st-round pick could still join forces originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The Buffalo Sabres used the No. 15 overall pick in the 2000 NHL Draft on Artyom Kriukov.
Those who are newer to their Sabres fandom would be forgiven if they haven't heard of him. He never played in the NHL.
Kriukov was in Russia at the time he was selected, and he never came over from the KHL.
He retired a decade ago, but the Sabres still own his rights.
That means that, in some bizarre twist where Kriukov decides to come out of retirement to try and prove he belongs in the NHL, the Sabres would have the right to sign him.
He's 44, so that's about as unlikely as can be, but it's a fascinating quirk of NHL contract rights.
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It is worth noting that it's a pretty brutal outcome to not have the guy you pick 15th overall ever come to the NHL.
Kriukov was a 6-foot-4 defenseman, and while he lasted a long time in the KHL, he bounced from team to team and never turned into a star. He also had a number of seasons where he couldn't quite stay healthy.
The promise the Sabres must've seen when they picked him never quite showed up enough to even start begging Kriukov to arrive in the NHL in the first place.
It's just a whiff, and it's one that will likely be forgotten about at some point, but it's still quirky to see his name still available to be signed by Buffalo.
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