[News] Ilya Kovalchuk retiring

[Enoch Root]

Originally Posted by kehatch

I don't think anyone was saying that there isn't a Russian Factor. Just that it shouldn't' preclude you from drafting Russian's anymore then: the Kyle Turris situation should stop you from drafting guys from New Westminster; or the Justin Schultz situation should prevent you from college; or the Tim Erixon situation should prevent you from drafting players from Sweden; or the Lindros situation should prevent you from drafting players from London ONT, etc, etc, etc

Lots of players jump ship or refuse to sign. When it is a Russian it is a big deal. The vast majority of Russian players that are drafted and have the skill to play in the NHL play in the NHL.

But that won't change anyone's opinion that likes to get caught up in the controversy of a single situation rather then look at the whole objectively.

That said, this horse has been beaten to death so back to our regularly scheduled program ..... sucks to be NJ right now. And Cammalleri is available.

To the first bold: those are one-offs and are simply not comparable. If this were the first, or even the second or third, Russian to bolt, then your point would be valid. However, the fact that the Russian factor comes into play on an almost monthly basis, illustrates that this is not a one-off event.

To the second bolt: are you kidding? There are what - less than 30 Russians playing in the NHL right now (I didn't look it up, but I believe the number is in that range)? There are over 300 Canadians. Are you suggesting that Canada's talent pool is 10 times as deep as the Russians'?

There are not as many NHL-ready players in Russia as there are in Canada, that is almost certainly true. However, if you are suggesting that there are only about 30, when the WJ tournament shows us several very talented players each year, then I think you need to take another look.

I find it absolutely amazing that, every single time the Russian factor comes into play - and again, that seems to be monthly, if not more - people attempt to argue that it doesn't exist.

No one is claiming that Russians have a bad attitude or are lazy or anything like that. But it is just a simple, irrefutable fact that drafting Russians is extremely risky and your chances of getting full value are very low.

[Buff]

If you think teams are reluctant to draft Russians now, can you imagine if somebody like Ovechkin or Malkin were to do the same as Kovalchuk just did? Perhaps the next top rated Russian, who is easily the best talent of his draft class, drops from #1 all the way out of the top 10, maybe even into the 20-30 range. What a coupe that would be if the player was drafted at #22 and decided to give the NHL a try and turned out to be a true #1 pick for his team. Lucky team.

[Sidney Crosby's Hat]

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.

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.

[Nsd1]

I think they would still be included in the lottery and just skipped over when their selection came up. In 2011 the devils forfeited pick 69, on the NHLs draft page it shows pick 68 then a blank spot and then pick 70.

It would be interesting if they ended up with the first overall pick, the first player taken in the draft would be taken second overall.

[Stampede2TheCup]

Originally Posted by Sidney Crosby's Hat

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.

Oligarchs and government.

[kyuss275]

Originally Posted by Sidney Crosby's Hat

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.

You might want to look into how much money the Russian owners have. I am not sure who the wealthiest owner of an NHL club is but from what i have heard some of the Russian owners are worth up to $14 billion.

They have enough money that they just had a Finnish team come over to the KHL. I doubt it's going to stop with that one team.

[CaptainYooh]

Originally Posted by blah blah

Oligarchs and government.

+ prestige of owning a hockey club.

A friend of mine is a Calgary expat working for TatNeft, an oil&gas company which owns Ak Bars Kazan hockey club. He says this is almost a religion over there. Hockey players are treated like semi-gods. Whatever money the team needs, they always get. Attendance at games doesn't mean much.

[valo403]

Originally Posted by CaptainYooh

+ prestige of owning a hockey club.

A friend of mine is a Calgary expat working for TatNeft, an oil&gas company which owns Ak Bars Kazan hockey club. He says this is almost a religion over there. Hockey players are treated like semi-gods. Whatever money the team needs, they always get. Attendance at games doesn't mean much.

Semi-gods who are removed from the ice by a clown shoes operation involving tarps when injured. I'd take being a mere mortal in the NHL.

[CliffFletcher]

Originally Posted by Sidney Crosby's Hat

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.

Originally Posted by valo403

Semi-gods who are removed from the ice by a clown shoes operation involving tarps when injured. I'd take being a mere mortal in the NHL.

Yeah, the salaries in the KHL challenge the NHL, but everything else about the pro player lifestyle isn't anywhere close.

[Playfair]

Sorry if this has already been posted:

As the NHL world tries to comprehend exactly what happend on Thursday afternoon with the sudden retirement of Ilya Kovalchuk from the league and the New Jersey Devils, the next question that has to be asked is where does Kovalchuk go from here?
The obvious answer: The KHL, and it appears that's where he's headed.


Dmitry Chesnokov @dchesnokov SKA will announce Kovalchuk's signing tomorrow, per @plysenkov, wanted to do it today.

http://www.cbssports.com/nhl/blog/ey...k-join-the-khl

[Street Pharmacist]

Originally Posted by Sidney Crosby's Hat

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.

They're still trying the field of dreams business model: if you build it, they will come. Hasn't worked yet, doubt it ever will

[Resolute 14]

Originally Posted by Playfair

Sorry if this has already been posted:



http://www.cbssports.com/nhl/blog/ey...k-join-the-khl

I love the silly opening to that CBS Sports story: "As the NHL world tries to comprehend exactly what happend on Thursday afternoon with the sudden retirement of Ilya Kovalchuk from the league and the New Jersey Devils..."

What is so hard to comprehend? Kovalchuk wanted to go back to Russia and the Devils didn't want to be saddled with that albatross of a contract. They concocted a sham retirement plan that the league was convinced to go along with. Everyone wins, except for Devils fans.

[devo22]

Originally Posted by Buff

If you think teams are reluctant to draft Russians now, can you imagine if somebody like Ovechkin or Malkin were to do the same as Kovalchuk just did? Perhaps the next top rated Russian, who is easily the best talent of his draft class, drops from #1 all the way out of the top 10, maybe even into the 20-30 range. What a coupe that would be if the player was drafted at #22 and decided to give the NHL a try and turned out to be a true #1 pick for his team. Lucky team.

well, that has already happened IMO, as a few very talented Russians dropped considerably over the last few years. In terms of pure talent, grabbing Tarasenko at 16 and Kuznetsov at 26 in 2010 was highway robbery for the Blues and the Capitals in my mind. In terms of talent, they should have been drafted higher and they dropped solely because of the "Russian factor". Still, at least with Kuznetsov, you see the problems. He still hasn't come over and is playing the waiting game (he promised to come over after the Olympics, but who knows ...). Nichushkin was considered a top 5 talent and dropped to 10, Slepyshev was considered a 1st round talent and was completely (!) passed over last year before the Oilers took a chance this year late in the 3rd.

[foshizzle11]

Originally Posted by Sidney Crosby's Hat

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.

This I don't understand either, how can they pay guys so much money? Where is it coming from?

[dissentowner]

Originally Posted by foshizzle11

This I don't understand either, how can they pay guys so much money? Where is it coming from?

crime.

[Resolute 14]

Originally Posted by foshizzle11

This I don't understand either, how can they pay guys so much money? Where is it coming from?

The KHL is Don Fehr and Bob Goodenow's wet dream: Rich owners willing to lose gobs of money overpaying their players.

[WilderPegasus]

What is the expansion fee for a franchise in the KHL? It seems like a ponzi scheme with the expansion fees paying for everything. If so once they can no longer expand the whole thing will come crumbling down.

[Resolute 14]

You're missing the point, Wilder. The purpose of the KHL is not to be profitable. The league has a hard salary cap of about $36 million per team, but there are all kinds of ways around it. Most significantly, the clause allowing each team to poach a player eligible for the Russian national team from the NHL. Nevermind the under-the-table payments. The seven worst NHL teams by attendance in 2011-12 matched the entire KHL last season. The league doesn't release much in the way of financials, but there is no way it is remotely close to profitable.

[RedMileDJ]

Ummm...

[Sidney Crosby's Hat]

Originally Posted by Element55

Ummm...

Smart. At 33 he should still find a sucker willing to sign him to an eight-year contract.