[Phanuthier]

Originally Posted by Flames Draft Watcher

Actually Malkin was involved in a big contract dispute before coming to the NHL.

From his wiki page

"However, a transfer dispute between the National Hockey League (NHL) and the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) delayed his Pittsburgh debut. On August 7, 2006, it appeared that the 20-year-old Malkin had come to a compromise with Metallurg and signed a deal that would have kept him in Russia until May 2007. However, Malkin stated that he signed the one-year contract not as a compromise but because of the immense "psychological pressure" his former club exerted on him.[citation needed] Desiring to play in the NHL, he left Metallurg Magnitogorsk's training camp in Helsinki, Finland, before it had started on August 12. It would later appear that the team had taken Malkin's passport away to prevent him from leaving, but it was eventually given back to him and Malkin was allowed to pass through Finnish customs. Meeting with his agent, J. P. Barry, the two quickly departed and waited for Malkin's visa clearance from the US Embassy.
In order to legally leave the team, on August 15, Malkin invoked, by fax, a provision of Russian labor law that allowed him to cancel his one-year contract by giving his employer two weeks notice.[6] Having untied himself of obligations in Russia, he was able to sign an entry-level contract with the Penguins on September 5, 2006.[7]"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evgeni_Malkin

I still remember how he came over. It was pretty awesome. I think he had disappeared for 48 hours or something while he snuck out of the country in the dark of night or something.