I don't know Slava Malamud from a hole in the wall, so I can't speak to their credibility. But I do know that series of tweets drew international attention due to the accusations within. Accusations, which I imagine, would be easy to disprove if they're untrue. Does SKA have a payroll much larger than most other teams? Can they ignore the salary cap? Is there any indication that they receive favoritism in the calls on the ice?
And I apologize about the military comment. I read too quickly. SKA started as a military club and was able to get top athletes in the country due to that connection, but you're right that there's no direct link to the military currently.
Regardless, the entire point is that there's zero chance Nikishin is going to get out of that contract early. There's no reason for SKA to allow that to happen and I don't believe Nikishin has given any indication of his preference one way or the other. Haven't done any research on that though.
You can't speak to Malamud's credibility, but you use him to prove your points?
If even half of that stuff was true, SKA would be winning titles left and right. Yet the last time they won a championship was 8 seasons ago.
Of course SKA is the wealthiest team, and wealth and influence can get you certain things, but NHL media (and NHL social media) LOVE to sensationalize everything coming out of Russia/KHL to absurd levels. Like Putin is single-handedly dictating what happens in KHL. lol
But it's what sells and gets clicks. And people eat it up like candy because we're the evil empire. It's really quite astounding.
That said, we are in agreement that its unlikely Nikishin will be in the NHL next year.
www.themoscowtimes.com
en.m.wikipedia.org
