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The Nashville Predators suspended forward Alexander Radulov indefinitely without pay for the 2008-2009 NHL season. This past off-season, the 22-year old from Nizhny Tagil, Russia had signed with UFA, a Russian KHL team, in violation of his NHL contract; Radulov had one year left on his existing contract with Nashville.

The Predators recently gave Radulov a deadline of September 1 to notify the team of his intention to return to the club for next season or face suspension. With the deadline passed and no word from Radulov, the Predators had no choice but to suspend him.

“We are disappointed Alex will not be with the Predators at the start of this season,” said Predators General Manager David Poile. “He is a world class player who demonstrated last season, with 26 goals and 58 points, that he is an emerging NHL talent. However, since he has not responded to our recent correspondence, we must move forward with our plans for the coming season.

“At some point, we hope Alex will have a desire to return to the NHL and compete in the best league in the world, with and against the best competition. We will re-visit his status at that time.

“Until then, we are focused on the players who are representing the Predators and providing them the necessary support and guidance. We will not allow Alex’s situation to be a distraction and, as such, will have no further comment on Alex or his situation.”

Radulov scored 26 goals and 32 assists for Nashville in the regular season last year. He also scored 2 goals and 2 assists against the eventual Stanley Cup champion Detroit Red Wings in the playoffs.