8/21 Malkin Sport-Express Interview translated - 10 pages!

The_Eck

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Jan 5, 2006
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According to what malkin has said in this interview, that man velichkin has no decency at all. I don't know how anybody can support that thug.
 

#66

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Dec 30, 2003
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According to what malkin has said in this interview, that man velichkin has no decency at all. I don't know how anybody can support that thug.
Very true but in the end Malkin did sign that contract. I know he's just a kid but he really shouldn't have. Anyone not expecting Velichkin to play hardball when losing his star just isn't looking at both sides of this thing. IMO Malkins agents should have taken better care of him. He should never have been in that situation anyway.
 

AfroThunder396

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Jan 8, 2006
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Yeah, but trying to get his family involved is just wrong, no matter how they spin it. He was in negotiations, and Velichkin had no right to try and put pressure on his parents. They had nothing to do with this.
 

DJ Spinoza

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Aug 7, 2003
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Very true but in the end Malkin did sign that contract. I know he's just a kid but he really shouldn't have. Anyone not expecting Velichkin to play hardball when losing his star just isn't looking at both sides of this thing. IMO Malkins agents should have taken better care of him. He should never have been in that situation anyway.

IMO Velichkin's words and actions indicate that he would have continued to just pressure Malkin every day until he signed the contract. Even if his parents literally threw him out of the house, Velichkin would have just continued to pester Malkin until he signed.

I agree that he shouldn't have signed a deal, but the situation here mitigated what Malkin did IMO. Velichkin had his passport at this time, and I highly doubt that he would have surrendered it to Malkin unless he signed.

Velichkin's actions to me are just of someone whose only real purpose was to keep Malkin as long as he could. He basically did all that he could do outside of hitting someone's head off of a wall radiator. He didn't seem like he wanted this to ever go to court. I don't doubt that he wants 2 million dollars for Malkin, but his actions have not really been clear to me other than his total unwillingness to let Malkin leave. I have not seen quotes from him saying that if the transfer agreement allowed for him to be paid 2 million, Malkin could go. It's more like Malkin is gone and now I want two million to me.

If anything, Malkin's guilty of being a little immature and hasty, but given the circumstances, I am not putting much blame on him. Simply put, Velichkin's way of handling his star player is shameful, and Velichkin has himself to blame as for why Malkin essentially had to defect. I didn't expect this to be pretty, but Velichkin could have let Malkin go with some decency and fought this out in the courts, which is what eventually happened anyways, only without the whole leaving decently thing.

Big thanks to Sergei for translating this. I've really been wanting to read this whole article since it came out.:clap:
 

Jaded-Fan

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Mar 18, 2004
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Pittsburgh
Thanks for the great perpective. Nothing that we really did not already know, just fills in some of the details. By the way, gotta love this part:

Aside from a brilliant rookie season with Pittsburgh and a hundred goals, what would be the best ending to this story?

E. Malkin: For Pittsburgh to understand the situation and pay a fair compensation to Metallurg. I don’t know what would be a fair amount, but I hope they will agree on something. And of course the other thing would be for the fans to forgive and understand me.


:eek:

Damn, if only . . .
 

Haute Couture

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Feb 27, 2002
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Yeah, but trying to get his family involved is just wrong, no matter how they spin it. He was in negotiations, and Velichkin had no right to try and put pressure on his parents. They had nothing to do with this.

It depends. Velichkin and Malkin's parents have been close over the past few years. Kids in Russia aren't as independent-minded, they're.. well, kids. And not only Russia - everywhere outside North America, I guess ;). It would make sense for Velichkin to involve them - for my Russian ears it doesn't sound so absurd.

Neither does asking for $2 million for one of the best talents in the game. The whole pressure thing - yeah, that's thoroughly regrettable, but even that isn't too uncommon. From what it sounded, Malkin does have a lot to thank Velichkin for. Hockey academies from such working-class cities as Magnitogorsk don't develop players just out of sheer benevolence - they're looking out for their interests. There's one thing to "buy" a developed player like Pavel Rosa and keep him on your roster for two-three unharmed years. It's another to develop a kid from scratch and then see him leave after just a couple of seasons, fully knowing that his best years are ahead of him.

Not trying to justify anyone, but offering another perspective to establish an understanding that this is one complicated situation.
 

Jaded-Fan

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Mar 18, 2004
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Pittsburgh
At least he wants Pittsburgh to pay fair compensation for him as well.

??

Even under the IIHF agreement the NHL pays the amount out of a pool all teams contribute to, not the team. Though I may have read that the team may have to make a contribution of a portion of the amount, I am not sure, but even if so the lions' share is paid from that pool, not the club. Pittsburgh can not pay a dime now, the NHL will not allow them to, and would not pay much if Russia were part of the IIHF agreement. They have no choice at all in the matter.
 

octopi

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Dec 29, 2004
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All things considered, I think things finally turned out well enough. However, at the time, Malkin's parents should have been more forceful and insisted they didn't want their son coerced.

In other news, better keep Malkin far away from guys like Frost.
 

KIRK

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Aug 2, 2005
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At least he wants Pittsburgh to pay fair compensation for him as well.

What's he going to say in the interview published in his home country: " Too bad, gang. I'm here tanning in sunny Southern California while you're busy enjoying another Siberian summer. I don't want to hear whining from any one of you. This could have been handled the nice way, but Velechkin was a thug, so you lose." Seriously, the only sensible thing was for him to say that.:teach:
 

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