KHL Ready to Declare Player War on NHL

From time to time, FanHouse has the distinct pleasure of getting English translations of stories that appear in the pages of Sovetsky Sport, Russia's leading sports newspaper, courtesy of Sovetsky's Washington correspondent, Dmitry Chesnokov. Most recently, we obtained the following translation of a story that will appear in tomorrow's edition of Sovetsky, an interview of Gennady Velichkin, the general director of Mettalurg Magnitogorsk, by Sovetsky reporter Pavel Lysenkov.

Many of you may recall that Mettalurg Magnitogorsk was Evgeni Malkin's club in the Russian Super League before he left for North America and an entry-level contract with the Pittsburgh Penguins. Now, Mettalurg Magnitogorsk is a charter member of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL), set to begin play next September.

In the wake of the news that broke over the weekend that several unnamed clubs in the new KHL were looking to lure Malkin back to Russia with a massive contract -- an offer Malkin's agent says he has no interest in -- Lysenkov put the question to Velichkin: Was it his club that was planning on making the offer to Malkin?

He answered that question, and a lot more that ought to give the NHL something to think about over the next few years. Over the weekend, NHL VP Bill Daly said that he's not worried about the advent of the new Russian league. Given the comments that follow by Velichkin, he might want to think twice about that. The translation follows after the jump.

Gennady, perhaps it is your club that is trying to lure Malkin back to Russia?

"I am not going to hide it, we are interested in bringing Malkin back. We are talking to him asking to come back. For good money. We don't care about what Pittsburgh is doing."

Malkin playing in the KHL and making $10 million. Is it fantasy?

"It is the reality of life. I think that Zenit winning the UEFA Cup, our hockey team's triumph in Quebec, the success our football players are having at the European Championships -- these are all links in the same chain. Russia has become a very different place, and foreigners don't understand it. I think that not only Metallurg, but other KHL clubs are ready to invite Malkin, Ovechkin, Gonchar to join them. It all depends on the guys' [players'] wishes. We can afford to pay star players more than they get across the ocean."

The IIHF president Rene Fasel has already made a remark that Russia will be punished if they start luring players with active contracts in the NHL.

"We discussed this topic at the KHL conference that was chaired by Alexander Medvedev, who is also the IIHF vice-president. Now we can already hear the words coming out of the NHL commissioner Gary Bettman's mouth: "Let's honor others' contracts!" This is exactly what we were asking him a few years ago. Medvedev said that Russia will not sign a transfer agreement with the NHL this year. Here you have it. Bettman didn't want to meet us in the middle before, and now he is too late. The time has come to pay the debts..."

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

6-22-2008 @ 10:41PM

Amy said...

These player couldn't wait to get out of their country, why would they want to go back. Malkin snuck out and wanted to be in the states to play in the nhl. It's never happening.

6-22-2008 @ 11:29PM

Greg said...

If they think they are going to really successful by throwing TONS of cash around. Consider why the Soviet Union collaspsed THEY COULDN'T KEEP UP FINANCIALLY!. The WHA folded They also COULDN'T KEEP UP FINANCIALLY!. Now the USD isn't exactly thriving, but I think the russian ruble is has a lower exchange rate.

6-23-2008 @ 1:42AM

Colonial said...

I think we are, in a worst case scenario, at least a few years from losing stars to the KHL. Who would sign a long term big money deal with a league that might not survive? I think the biggest fear is teams losing mid-range players with allstar potential. Guys who would surely make a lot more overseas. I'm thinking players like Zherdev and Cherepanov here are more likely gone than OV and Malkin.

Sure, Malkin COULD make more over there but he could also make LESS if the league collapses by handing out $15M a year contracts to have stars in a league with 8000 seat arenas. The league doesn't seem to be a sure bet financially.

6-23-2008 @ 9:24AM

millermakesthesave said...

How exactly would Russia be punished if they lure players back home? they're delusional.

6-23-2008 @ 12:09PM

bethellison said...

They're paying John Grahame $8 million. The KHL is both delusional and doomed.

6-23-2008 @ 1:21PM

Hooks_Orpik said...

Money can't buy the prize that everyone wants: the Stanley Cup and the most competitive hockey league in the world. That's why guys like Ovechkin and Malkins will stay (and still make a killing)....It's been a lifelong dream to come to America and play in the NHL.

6-23-2008 @ 2:26PM

Eric McErlain said...

Hooks -- A little more than 35 years ago, a few folks with some extra cash to throw around started the WHA. And as I recall from my history books, a couple of Canadian heroes -- that would be Bobby Hull and Gordie Howe -- were more than happy to ply their trade in that league knowing they wouldn't get a shot at the Stanley Cup. Further, the WHA also managed to snag plenty of top European talent that the NHL had mostly managed to ignore up until that point, Ulf Nilson and Anders Hedberg in particular.

Here in North America, we like to think we're on top of the heap and we'll always be there. But the world is changing and nothing is forever. As for those who question the financial commitment, Gazprom has more money at its disposal than those gadflies who started the WHA. You'd be foolish to underestimate their zeal to exact a pound of flesh from the NHL.

6-23-2008 @ 3:57PM

Valid points, Eric. Perhaps we shouldn't under-estimate the lengths they will try to go, especially in the case of getting Malkin back who they feel was stolen from them.

I'm not sure the defections are coming at the highest level of players, but rather will affect perhaps not the top-tier players but still keep Russians guys skilled enough for the NHL in Russia. Who knows, I suppose anything could happen.

6-23-2008 @ 5:53PM

Doogie2K said...

"Over the weekend, NHL [President Clarence Campbell] said that he's not worried about the advent of the new [World Hockey Association]."

I see Eric's already beaten me to this point, but even though the WHA collapsed after just seven years, it also played a prominent role in the modern history of the game. Sure, the short-term story is that at some point, a major superstar -- maybe Russian, maybe not -- will take stupid money to "defect," just as Bobby Hull did in 1972. But my long-term interest is in what the state of the game will be ten, twenty years from now, should this new league gain any sort of traction at all. The WHA ended the reserve clause and helped bring about unprecedented salary escalation, expansion and consequently player dilution, an increase in on-ice violence, and a complete shift in the philosophy of both recruitment and gameplay style. In particular, the Winnipeg Jets and the Hot Line (Hull-Nilsson-Hedberg) paved the way for the Oilers of the '80s, their then-unheard-of hybrid style of play inspiring Glen Sather as he played out the string and got his coaching start in Edmonton in the late '70s. What changes could the KHL possibly bring? Obviously not the same kind that the WHA did, but that's definitely the bigger story here.