Quote:
Originally Posted by Ruttiger
Was thinking this morning this isn't the worst thing in the world, to have Russians slowly migrating back to play in a viable league at home. The thing that has killed the intrigue and mystique around playing the Russians over the past 20 or so years is, in addition to the end of the cold war, having all their best players playing in the NHL.
I know, for our own selfish reasons, a lot of people want the best players playing in the best league because it's in our backyard. But if you can be well-compensated, and in many cases, better off than if you played in the NHL, with the added benefit of being able to play in our home country, how many of us wouldn't consider the same choice?
If this pattern continues, I think you'll start to see the re-emergence of the power of the Canada-Russia hockey rivalry. It may never be what it was in the 70's and 80's, but I would relish the feel of some of those classic Canada-Russia games again, bolstered by the fact the players wouldn't be quite so familiar to us anymore.
Haven't read the whole thread yet so not sure if these thoughts were covered already. Just my two cents.
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The one thing about the KHL is I don't see how it's sustainable for them to continually hand out massive paydays to Russian players. The arenas in the league are for the most part smaller capacity than NHL rinks and the average ticket prices aren't anywhere near NHL costs. Some KHL teams average as low as the equivalent of $12 per game.