Lol no need to trade clarkson and that return is meh.

pass

i actually watch the SHL and got to see Olofsson first hand , he's a stud Checking Forward similar to a Scissons in the role he plays as a physical big bodied Center.

Gusev is Russian
Claude Juliens went from inheriting a roster with 5 NHL Russians and a AHL Russian and all 6 are gone from our system , most his first full year as coach and replaced by Canadian Born NHL'ers

Olofsson is Claude Juliens prototypical Center ,i doubt he'd play Gusev outside the bottom 6
MTL would play Poehling a year at Wing before they'd take an unproven Russian when the last 3 to come to the NHL failed to make the jump including a former NHL'er in Kovalchuk so the odds of Gusev getting 50pts is not very high at all which is why he wasnt injected into the playoffs . (as if he was the level talent guys pretend on here then he woulda been)

When Gusev is traded it will be for something like Niklas Jensen's UFA's rights , 2nd and a 5th
Nik Jensen's NYR former 1st rounder prospect playing for jokerit in the KHL and has 1 year before he's 27 and UFA.

a guy like Nik who's rights are worthless because of his pissing match with NYR management and choosing to stay in the KHL until his rights are void on this 27th birthday. that being said he's held off from re-signing with Jokerit in hopes NYR trade his rights .VGK would be a perfect fit for him honestly and NYR would be ideal for Gusev as he joins former World Cup teammate Artemi Panarin .

For MTL though it only makes sense if the players A)Established with 2 + NHL seasons , B) comes to us in a deal involving only picks .
Outside that there is nothing available we want worth parting with even an Olofsson

The question isn't when he will be traded, but IF he will. Vegas will sign him unless they get a VERY good return for him

doubtfull

if they wanted him , like Karlsson they woulda made moves even at a loss to them to clear the cap .

IF Gusev was willing to take a team friendly 1-2 year deal it would be done .
right now VGK arent willing to pony up more then 4m at most as the Shipachyov Saga from Gusev's former long time KHL Center is leaving a bad taste in their mouth .

When Gusev's traded it wont be for a huge return , untested KHL players rights are never worth that much at his age .
Gusev even knows this , its why instead of waiting until his birthday on Jul 8th less then 90 days from when he signed with VGK he would have been a UFA like Radulov was and able to sign with any team . instead he took the ELC ensuring 0% leverage in negotiations because atleast this way he's got an NHL option .

Gusev isnt a Radulov who dominated the KHL without mercy for close to a decade , he's more like a Krieder type at the KHL level aka consistent producer but no Superstar . only people fooled by Gusev are those who dont watch the KHL . (he played with Kovlachuk , Datsyuk ,Dadanov ,Shipachyov Hersley and Voynov at the same time . . . basically the best players in the KHL at the time post Radulov )

Vegas won't be trading him unless it is a return that will help them this year, a b prospect and a 2nd isn't enough, his only recourse is to go back to the KHL which will delay his UFA status til he is 29 and he will still have no NHL experience so his stock will be lower than it is now.

3rd will become a 7th rounder if Gusev put up under 20 points in NHL, which is likely

you were saying about VGK not trading unless it will help them today with a prospect?

Gusev has always and will always be a poor man's Radulov who stepped up only after Radulov left Russia .
Gusev played on a better team then Radulov with more big name talent like Datsyuk ,Kovalchuk ,Shipachyov ,ext .
Gusev's only successful if he's the least talented player on his line .