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Russia becoming viable option for players
Lyle Richardson, SpectorsHockey.net/Fox Sports, August 3, 2009
When Russia's Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) backed by the petro-dollars of their billionaire ownership came into being over a year ago, some observers believed it could provide a significant challenge to the dominance of the National Hockey League.
As the KHL heads toward its second season, it still has a long way to go in that regard, but it has emerged as a alternative for fading veterans and struggling youngsters unable to continue their NHL careers.
Last summer roughly thirty players — including Jaromir Jagr, Ray Emery, Ladislav Nagy, Jozef Stumpel, Alexei Zhitnik, Bryan Berard and Chris Simon — signed with KHL teams after failing to land NHL contracts.
This summer's list includes Sergei Fedorov, Sergei Zubov, Viktor Kozlov, P.J. Axelsson, Dmitri Kalinin and Martin Gerber.
It's been suggested this represents a talent drain, which could ultimately harm the NHL, but a further examination of these lists suggest otherwise. Almost all are veteran players in the twilight of their respective careers and their absences were scarcely noticed by NHL fans.
While the talent level in the KHL is good, it still pales in comparison to the NHL, which is why the latter can still attract and retain the world's top hockey talent.
For some players the KHL is merely a short-term option they hope to use to parlay into a future NHL contract.
Such was the case for Emery, who signed this summer with the Philadelphia Flyers and Wade Dubielewicz, who returned to the NHL midway through last season and was signed this summer by the Minnesota Wild.
It's no coincidence most of the players heading to the KHL are European. Despite the oil dollars floating the KHL, the league doesn't have a good reputation amongst many North American players.
Concerns about playing conditions, travel, medical care and lodgings, adjusting to Russian culture and language, and rumors of payment problems have scared off most North American pros.
For the KHL to truly threaten the NHL's dominance, it would have to successfully sign away some of the latter's top stars which to date it hasn't been able to do.
However, the KHL has been a thorn in the NHL's side on two significant occasions.
First was their signing last summer of Nashville Predators winger Alexander Radulov to a multi-year deal while he was still under contract with the Predators.
The NHL claimed that violated an agreement between the two leagues not to sign players currently under contract. The KHL said Radulov signed his contract before the "gentleman's agreement" between the two leagues became official.
After months of squabbling, Radulov remains in the KHL but Russian teams have honored the agreement since then.
The flat-lining of the NHL's salary cap for next season presented the KHL with an opportunity to competitively bid for the NHL's restricted free agents, notably winger Jiri Hudler of the Detroit Red Wings.
Only two weeks after filing for NHL salary arbitration, Hudler surprised the hockey world by agreeing to a two-year, $10 million contract with the KHL's Moscow Dynamo.
Again the NHL lodged a complaint but as with Radulov, it appears there's little they can do to prevent Hudler from playing in the KHL. Red Wings general manager Ken Holland would love to re-sign Hudler but lacks the cap space to match or beat Dynamo's offer.
The Hudler situation could be an ominous foreshadowing for future signings of promising NHL restricted free agents by KHL teams should the NHL salary cap remain stagnant or decline in 2010-11.
But NHL teams could use the rival league to their advantage by "loaning" players under contract to KHL teams to gain some cap relief.
It's been done before, most recently by the New Jersey Devils when they placed veteran defenseman Vitaly Vishnevski on waivers last August. After he cleared, Vishnevski was allowed to play in the KHL, freeing up nearly $2 million in cap space for last season and the upcoming one.
But those tactics won't result in a huge migration of top NHL talent to the KHL as the latter has self-imposed limits on the number of foreign-born players it can sign (five per team) and NHL general managers will still do everything they can to retain their best talent even if next season's salary cap declines.
It remains to be seen if the Kontinental Hockey League ever comes close to challenging the NHL's dominance in the world of professional hockey but in the short term will remain a viable alternative for fading NHL talent looking to extend their playing careers.
Lyle Richardson, SpectorsHockey.net/Fox Sports, August 3, 2009
When Russia's Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) backed by the petro-dollars of their billionaire ownership came into being over a year ago, some observers believed it could provide a significant challenge to the dominance of the National Hockey League.
As the KHL heads toward its second season, it still has a long way to go in that regard, but it has emerged as a alternative for fading veterans and struggling youngsters unable to continue their NHL careers.
Last summer roughly thirty players — including Jaromir Jagr, Ray Emery, Ladislav Nagy, Jozef Stumpel, Alexei Zhitnik, Bryan Berard and Chris Simon — signed with KHL teams after failing to land NHL contracts.
This summer's list includes Sergei Fedorov, Sergei Zubov, Viktor Kozlov, P.J. Axelsson, Dmitri Kalinin and Martin Gerber.
It's been suggested this represents a talent drain, which could ultimately harm the NHL, but a further examination of these lists suggest otherwise. Almost all are veteran players in the twilight of their respective careers and their absences were scarcely noticed by NHL fans.
While the talent level in the KHL is good, it still pales in comparison to the NHL, which is why the latter can still attract and retain the world's top hockey talent.
For some players the KHL is merely a short-term option they hope to use to parlay into a future NHL contract.
Such was the case for Emery, who signed this summer with the Philadelphia Flyers and Wade Dubielewicz, who returned to the NHL midway through last season and was signed this summer by the Minnesota Wild.
It's no coincidence most of the players heading to the KHL are European. Despite the oil dollars floating the KHL, the league doesn't have a good reputation amongst many North American players.
Concerns about playing conditions, travel, medical care and lodgings, adjusting to Russian culture and language, and rumors of payment problems have scared off most North American pros.
For the KHL to truly threaten the NHL's dominance, it would have to successfully sign away some of the latter's top stars which to date it hasn't been able to do.
However, the KHL has been a thorn in the NHL's side on two significant occasions.
First was their signing last summer of Nashville Predators winger Alexander Radulov to a multi-year deal while he was still under contract with the Predators.
The NHL claimed that violated an agreement between the two leagues not to sign players currently under contract. The KHL said Radulov signed his contract before the "gentleman's agreement" between the two leagues became official.
After months of squabbling, Radulov remains in the KHL but Russian teams have honored the agreement since then.
The flat-lining of the NHL's salary cap for next season presented the KHL with an opportunity to competitively bid for the NHL's restricted free agents, notably winger Jiri Hudler of the Detroit Red Wings.
Only two weeks after filing for NHL salary arbitration, Hudler surprised the hockey world by agreeing to a two-year, $10 million contract with the KHL's Moscow Dynamo.
Again the NHL lodged a complaint but as with Radulov, it appears there's little they can do to prevent Hudler from playing in the KHL. Red Wings general manager Ken Holland would love to re-sign Hudler but lacks the cap space to match or beat Dynamo's offer.
The Hudler situation could be an ominous foreshadowing for future signings of promising NHL restricted free agents by KHL teams should the NHL salary cap remain stagnant or decline in 2010-11.
But NHL teams could use the rival league to their advantage by "loaning" players under contract to KHL teams to gain some cap relief.
It's been done before, most recently by the New Jersey Devils when they placed veteran defenseman Vitaly Vishnevski on waivers last August. After he cleared, Vishnevski was allowed to play in the KHL, freeing up nearly $2 million in cap space for last season and the upcoming one.
But those tactics won't result in a huge migration of top NHL talent to the KHL as the latter has self-imposed limits on the number of foreign-born players it can sign (five per team) and NHL general managers will still do everything they can to retain their best talent even if next season's salary cap declines.
It remains to be seen if the Kontinental Hockey League ever comes close to challenging the NHL's dominance in the world of professional hockey but in the short term will remain a viable alternative for fading NHL talent looking to extend their playing careers.
