Ever since the days where Russia was the U.S.S.R and wore those intimidating red jerseys and
dominated International play there has been a tension between North American Hockey and Russian Hockey. From Peter Stastny, Petr Klima, and Slava Fetisov many players under the iron curtain have had to defect from their homelands in the Soviet Union to come play in the NHL. Now almost two decades since the fall of the Soviet Union Russian players are still having difficulty making their way to the United States to play in the NHL.
The other former Eastern block countries such as the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Germany, with Switzerland, Sweden and Finland have signed a player transfer agreement with the NHL through the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF). This agreement states that the NHL will pay the club of a player drafted and signed by an NHL team $200,000.00 USD (IIHF.com). Russia decided not to sign this agreement. The Russian Super League teams mostly owned by private businessman and rumored to have ties with Russian organized crime have stated they want up to $1,000,000.00 USD for their players. Russian Hockey President Vladislav Tretiak says that eighty percent of the Russian club teams are opposed to the current transfer agreement (Habsinsideout.com).
What
has caused Russian teams to oppose this deal while the hockey European
hockey powers have? Does it have something to due with feeling spite
from the past players they have lost? In 2004 Russian super prospect
now NHL superstar Alexander Ovechkin was drafted #1 by the Washington
Capitals. Drafted right after him at #2 was fellow Russian super
prospect Evgeni Malkin. Alexander Ovechkin came to the NHL and was able
to begin playing for the Washington Capitals after a court case found
the Capitals and the NHL not guilty of any wrong doing. Moscow Dynamo
filed suit against Ovechkin in 2005, claiming rights to him. Ovechkin
left Dynamo in April 2005 after leading that team to the Super League
title, and signed with rival Avangard Omsk. That contract contained an
"out" clause, and Ovechkin exercised that in July 2005 to sign with Washington (Post-Gazette.com).
Then there is Evgeni Malkin. Malkin at the time was playing under a very lucrative contract in Russia
(Russianprospects.com). In the summer of 2006 there were rumors that
Malkin was ready to come to the NHL. But he was under contract with the
Metallurg Magnitogorsk for 2 more years. Malkin had reworked his 2 year
deal for a new 1 year contract enabling him to get over to the United States a year earlier than he planned. But this was not good enough for Malkin as he left his team's training camp in Finland and could not be found (Newsvine.com). Soon after his disappearance Malkin was found in Los Angeles, California getting ready to train with NHL players with his American agents Pat Brisson and J.P. Berry (Newslab.ru).
Metallurg
Magnitogorsk took the Pittsburgh Penguins to Federal Court in the U.S.
Metallurg sought to block Malkin from playing with the Penguins. The
case was being heard at the same time as one in which Russian team
Lokomotiv Yaroslavl has filed suit over prospects Alexei Mikhnov, who
signed with Edmonton, and Andrei Taratukhin, who signed with Calgary
(Post-Gazette.com). Metallurg was claiming an anti-trust violation
against the Penguins. But, Malkin faxed a two-week contract termination
notification to Magnitogorsk,
which is allowable under Russian labor law (Post-Gazette.com). Later on
an American Judge dismissed the case. The NHL contended that Malkin
followed Russian labor laws in discharging himself from his Russian
team contract. The U.S. Federal court agreed, and decided Wednesday
that Malkin, the NHL and the Penguins had violated no labor laws
(TSN.ca).
The
Malkin dismissal meant another bitter loss for Russian Clubs at the
hands of the NHL. Their loss was the NHL's gain. Malkin was the
unanimous Calder Trophy winner as NHL Rookie of the Year (TSN.ca). Russia
meanwhile will continue to try and keep their top players at home. They
will use strong arming to try and force them to sign long term deals
with their club teams. What does this mean for the business side of the
NHL? In the 2007 NHL draft Russian player Alexei Cherapanov was
considered by many experts to be a top 5 talent in the draft. Yet he
dropped all the way down to pick #17 for the New York Rangers. Many
said that the ability to sign Cherapanov from his Russian club had a
lot to do with him slipping down many spots in the draft. Increasingly,
NHL teams seem to be taking the position on their Russian draftees
(including older picks) that three things need to be in place to sign
the player: 1) a specific team need for this type of player (read: a
lack of suitable alternatives to a process that's become a major
headache), 2) a willingness of the player to commit to competing for an
NHL job without anything being handed to him, and 3) a clear indication
the player can and will be contractually available. Last season, there
were just 35 Russian players who played at least one NHL regular season
game or 3.7% of the 942 players who played league wide). By comparison,
there were 65 Czechs (6.9% of the league), 49 Swedes (5.2%) and 42
Finns (4.5%) (HockeyBuzz.com). Will NHL teams shy away from top Russian prospects in fear of getting sued? Because it does not appear Russia will ever sign the transfer agreement unless they get ridiculous compensation.
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