Finnish club to join KHL, future of ET
- Thread starter vorky
- Start date
KHL?
Blues was rumored before but their financial and owner situation is now in state where I don't see it happening. Plus their fanbase is too small.
Jokerit imho would be the only team in Finland that might and could do it... though their owner has been more towards European League in his talks. Maybe Kärpät too?
I'm tired of SM-Liiga's management to running the league so poorly in many departments so if my favourite team would leave it someday... I wouldn't mind. I support the team not the league.
Blues was rumored before but their financial and owner situation is now in state where I don't see it happening. Plus their fanbase is too small.
Jokerit imho would be the only team in Finland that might and could do it... though their owner has been more towards European League in his talks. Maybe Kärpät too?
I'm tired of SM-Liiga's management to running the league so poorly in many departments so if my favourite team would leave it someday... I wouldn't mind. I support the team not the league.
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JabbaJabba
Registered User
I think that with better marketing, Blues could come up with new fans if they would rebrand it as "the Finnish team in KHL". Maybe even change it's name (Espoo Mannerheims
). Blues wouldn't be an opposing team to HIFK or Jokerit anymore so starting a new, Finnish team in KHL could possibly get some fans from Helsinki region. In few years there will be an underground station near the Barona Arena so trip from Helsinki to Espoo wouldn't have to be done with your own car or by bus. Would be quite cool when you could take the underground to Helsinki's center to party the victory over "some Russian team". Fan trips to other arenas would be a completely different story though.However, I doubt that Blues could build enough competitive team to be successful in KHL. Jokerit could but I can't see them leaving FEL.
My favourite idea for a Finnish KHL team is that Jokerit would play in KHL but they would also have team in SM-Liiga. Confusing? I'll explain. Basicly, if some rich Russian buisnessman or woman would be ready to fund this project, another Jokerit team would be made. These two teams would have same looking jerseys, same goalsongs, same arena and some of the same leaders but the SM-Liiga Jokerit would have different roster that KHL Jokerit. Junior teams would be shared between theese two teams and they all would play Finnish junior leagues.
Sounds stupid? No, because that way the new Finnish KHL-team wouldn't have to find a new fan base, it would already have one. It would be the same Jokerit, except with a new roster that plays in KHL. Fans wouldn't get bitter because Ossi Väänänen, Steve Moses etc. would still play in "normal" Jokerit, now there would be just 2 x more Jokerit games to watch. Fans could go watch a Finnish Jokerit game against HIFK in friday and and KHL Jokerit game against SKA Petersbourgh in saturday. A rivarly with SKA would start instantly, because Helsinki is small sized replica of St. Petersbough. Imagine, two northern cities against each other. Winter War II, except this war wouldn't have an end.
How about every practical issues? Game schedule would have to be made so that Finnish Jokerit and KHL Jokerit wouldn't play in Hartwall Arena the same day. A little bit of extra work, not hard to arrange at all. Although the rosters would be different, some co-operation would be made. As I said, the leaders would be different, but some persons could be in leading roles in both teams. And as I said about the Jokerit junior teams, they would play in Finland but could do co-operation with Russian junior leagues. That way if a 18-year old Jokerit junior player would choose the contract to KHL Jokerit over Finnish Jokerit, KHL life wouldn't completly alien to him.
All this of course is a fantasy, if some wealty Russian dosen't invest in this. But it's a damn good idea, don't you think? ;D
Sounds stupid? No, because that way the new Finnish KHL-team wouldn't have to find a new fan base, it would already have one. It would be the same Jokerit, except with a new roster that plays in KHL. Fans wouldn't get bitter because Ossi Väänänen, Steve Moses etc. would still play in "normal" Jokerit, now there would be just 2 x more Jokerit games to watch. Fans could go watch a Finnish Jokerit game against HIFK in friday and and KHL Jokerit game against SKA Petersbourgh in saturday. A rivarly with SKA would start instantly, because Helsinki is small sized replica of St. Petersbough. Imagine, two northern cities against each other. Winter War II, except this war wouldn't have an end.
How about every practical issues? Game schedule would have to be made so that Finnish Jokerit and KHL Jokerit wouldn't play in Hartwall Arena the same day. A little bit of extra work, not hard to arrange at all. Although the rosters would be different, some co-operation would be made. As I said, the leaders would be different, but some persons could be in leading roles in both teams. And as I said about the Jokerit junior teams, they would play in Finland but could do co-operation with Russian junior leagues. That way if a 18-year old Jokerit junior player would choose the contract to KHL Jokerit over Finnish Jokerit, KHL life wouldn't completly alien to him.
All this of course is a fantasy, if some wealty Russian dosen't invest in this. But it's a damn good idea, don't you think? ;D
Helsinki metropolitan area (about 1.3 million people) already has 3 teams in top level and IMO that's enough... If some team enters KHL then I don't see them doing SM-Liiga anymore.
HIFK: has the most fans in the area
Jokerit: 2nd
Blues: 3rd
Plus Helsinki area has lots of people that have moved here from all over Finland and many of them still support their teams back home...not the Helsinki area teams.
HIFK: has the most fans in the area
Jokerit: 2nd
Blues: 3rd
Plus Helsinki area has lots of people that have moved here from all over Finland and many of them still support their teams back home...not the Helsinki area teams.
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Only technically. With Kummola and Harkimo being bedfellows, it would result in a solution where Jokerit is still a SM-liiga team, only every time they couldn't play because they had a KHL game, they would be awarded with an auto-win and three points, because "a KHL team is obviously tougher than a SM-liiga team".
If you think that doesn't make any sense, go tell it to Kummola, not me.
And, oh:
vorky
@vorkywh24
- Jan 23, 2010
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I dont know the relationship in finnish hockey. I can say about czech one. Lev Poprad, Slovakia played KHL in 2011/12. Ownership changed during this innaugural season. Last summer, new club Lev Praha was created in czech capital. Lev Praha (Prague) is owned by company Sportovni Holding, which owns czech team Sparta Prague (czech league) as well. Both clubs share arena.
KHL team needs farm team in local/national league. Dont forget for it.
KHL team needs farm team in local/national league. Dont forget for it.
There are some strong rumours going around that Jokerit and their arena will be sold today to Gennady Timchenko. This could be a sign that Jokerit is going to be a KHL team. The rival team HIFK is planning on building a new arena and Harkimo, the owner of Jokerit, wants to sell his arena before it loses value.
vorky
@vorkywh24
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There are mentioned 2 people in finnish press ...
Arkadi Rotenberg is a member of KHL Board of Directors and owner/president of Dynamo Moscow, current holder of Gagarin Cup. If I understand finnish articles (via google
), he is connected to Hartwall Arena...
Gennadi Timchenko is president of SKA and president of KHL Board of Directors and KHL´s deputy at IIHF. He is a person which is connected to Jokerit, as person who wants to buy the club.
Guys, some big game has been playing in front of our eyes.
Arkadi Rotenberg is a member of KHL Board of Directors and owner/president of Dynamo Moscow, current holder of Gagarin Cup. If I understand finnish articles (via google
), he is connected to Hartwall Arena... Gennadi Timchenko is president of SKA and president of KHL Board of Directors and KHL´s deputy at IIHF. He is a person which is connected to Jokerit, as person who wants to buy the club.
Guys, some big game has been playing in front of our eyes.
Jokerit press conference is tomorrow at 16:30 (Finnish time)
Taking part:
Harry "Hjallis" Harkimo (Owner of Jokerit and Hartwall Areena)
Kalervo Kummola (Vice President of the International Ice Hockey Federation, President of Finnish Ice Hockey Federation)
And some russians
Taking part:
Harry "Hjallis" Harkimo (Owner of Jokerit and Hartwall Areena)
Kalervo Kummola (Vice President of the International Ice Hockey Federation, President of Finnish Ice Hockey Federation)
And some russians
From here begins the destruction of Finnish Ice Hockey....
Jos tää nyt on totta nii ei voi muuta sanoa ku, että veli venäläinen levitti SM-liigan pakarat ja painoi öljyllä voidellun kullinsa niin syvälle sisään että hirvittää.
(Possibly) Rest in piece SM-league 1928-2013
Jos tää nyt on totta nii ei voi muuta sanoa ku, että veli venäläinen levitti SM-liigan pakarat ja painoi öljyllä voidellun kullinsa niin syvälle sisään että hirvittää.
(Possibly) Rest in piece SM-league 1928-2013
That's my fear as well.
Thanks, Hjallis!
SM-liiga and Kummola's federation posse has been killing Finnish hockey themselves...not Hjallis or Jokerit.
SM-liiga can survive without Jokerit.
I agree on SM-liigas survival if it's only Jokerit (although as a HIFK fan it would piss me off to see the rivalry die) but my fear is that if Jokerit goes after that clubs like IFK, Tappara, Kärpät etc. will head for that path too. And there simply is not money in Finland to be a meaningful team. So it's either Russian owned teams or yay, Finland's ''best'' teams just became the SaiPa's of the KHL. And the rest of the league withers away and dies or becomes some completely watered down half-mestis league.
And although I might be in the minority I have zero interest seeing SKA, Dynamo or any other team with their euro ''stars'' (or god forbid some Siberian team) over any SM-league team. Decades of tradition possibly thrown away like a disposable commodity.
Putrid. Absolutely putrid.
Jokerit leaving would only be the beginning of the end of SM-liiga. Others would likely follow.
vorky
@vorkywh24
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I want to add that Jokerit (or whatever KHL team) needs farm-team in domestic league. Dont worry, Jokerit can play both KHL and SM-Liiga... HC Lev and Sparta Praha have the same owner , HC Lev playing KHL, Sparta playing czech league (and ET).
The same opinion (destroying domestic league) I read last year when HC Lev Praha joined KHL. What happened? Nothing, only czech clubs get money ("for developing players") from HC Lev for czech players who played in HC Lev - it was a special condition of czech hockey federation to allow HC Lev to play KHL. Finnish fed can make the same condition.
Oh gee how great, FEL can be a farm! This brings me exactly to my point, the destruction of Finnish Ice Hockey. Finnish league becoming nothing but a farm for a league whose foundation is more unstable than that of an exploding star. Few oligarchs lose interest or oil and gas money run out and that league is out the window faster than you can say davai dosvidanya.
vorky
@vorkywh24
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I ask you one question... what is FEL now? I would say FEL is a main source of players for KHL, call it farm-league if you want. So, nothing will change.
LOFIN
Registered User
- Sep 16, 2011
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Agreed on this. SM-Liiga was arguably the second best league in the world during 1990-1995 period. Compare that time to now. SM-Liiga has been a "developer league" a long time now.
vorky
@vorkywh24
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and most saddest thing is that clubs from this "developer league" (but also SHL, NLA, DEL, czech, slovak league) can not ask "transfer fee" from KHL/NHL clubs... because, NHL pays only "development fee", which is not equall to quality of players (f.e. if basket player transfers from euro club to NBA, NBA pays development fee + the player pays the different among dev.fee and tranfer fee... euro clubs want 1M for player, NBA pays 0,5M, player 0,5M... in hockey? not possible) ... And KHL does not have to pay big "transfer fees" because players have buy out clauses (100 000 euro or so as finnish posters claim). But dont wan to be OT....
Haven't heard about that. All contracts here are individuals that I know. Some (newer) contracts could have a minimum buy out fee or then nothing. But if you don't have KHL clause, some KHL teams have paid crazy fees to buy out the players from here. (Vehanen, Wallinheimo etc.) But I'm not familiar with the new situation.
vorky
@vorkywh24
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I was not correct, my term "100 000 euro " = yours "minimum buy out fee or then nothing" If I remember Jussi has claimed this (minimum/no buyouts).
I doubt there was crazy fee for Vehanen´s tranfer from Lukko to HC Lev Praha this summer...
Dont know how in Finland, but according to GM of Slavia Praha, KHL clubs dont pay "so much money as before (lets say in 2008-2010)" anymore. The system of IIHF tranfers allows it, sad.
vorky
@vorkywh24
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