Is KHL still the best league in Europe?

[Eye of Ra]

With all non-russians leaving, the quality of the league has dropped, but is it still the best leauge in Europe?

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[Czechboy]

I say yes but it's not as strong as it was... all those high end Finns, Czechs and Swedes leaving at every position definitely weakened the league.

 

[WarriorofTime]

What is better? But yes, need the Finns back.

 

[Albatros]

Some individual teams may still be among the best, but as a league the SHL is clearly superior at the moment.

 

[Sharkbomb]

The KHL probably has better high end talent (most talented top players and most talented top teams), but the average level of competition may already be higher at the SHL and the lack of international players will hurt the KHL even further. Hockey is an international sport and a domestic league of an international sport that doesn't have international players will soon be relegated. Its early in the process yet, but I would say they've opened a huge lane for the SHL to take the baton as the undisputed #2 in the world.

 

[Caser]

With all non-russians leaving, the quality of the league has dropped, but is it still the best leauge in Europe?

Are you sure about that?

 

[kudla]

The quality of this league must have dropped quite a bit

 

[Pardus]

There are 41 Canadian, 13 American, 8 Slovak, 5 Swedish and 3 Czech players in KHL.

 

[Caser]

There are 41 Canadian, 13 American, 8 Slovak, 5 Swedish and 3 Czech players in KHL.

Also 2 Latvian, 1 Finn, 1 German, 1 French, 1 Slovenian, 1 Japanese... also players with Belarus, Kazakhstan and China passports (among them there are a lot of players who are actually from other countries). But hey, the OP says "with all non-Russians leaving", so he must know something.

 

[ViD]

With all non-russians leaving, the quality of the league has dropped, but is it still the best leauge in Europe?

I believe most NA players are still there and some Europeans also stayed

The thing about KHL is that it has always had way more teams than any other European league and while top KHL teams were head and shoulders better than other European teams, the bottom feeders in the KHL were worse than some good teams in euro leagues.

 

[Czechboy]

I'm not following the league at all.. no Czechs. My only real knowledge is the Michkov prospect thread. So it was funny to see that Jaskin is leading the league in scoring as of today!

 

[ffsffs1]

According to elite prospects, 75.9% of KHL players are Russian this year, as opposed to 66.6% last year. The last time the KHL was more than 70% Russian was 2009-2010 (when it was 71.0%). This change has been driven by the exodus of western European players. There's roughly the same number of Canadians and Americans but the vast majority of Finns, Swedes, Czechs, and Latvians have left.

 

[WarriorofTime]

There is a lot of misconception. The KHL is 74.2 % Russian in terms of Games Played in 2022-23 and the SHL is 69.1 % Swedish in terms of Gamed Played in 2022-23. For another reference point, Liiga is 75.3 % Finnish in terms of Games Played in 2022-23.

And keep in mind Russia is a much bigger country than Sweden. The idea that the SHL is "international" while the KHL is "domestic" is a gross exaggeration.

 

[Realgud]

I think the SHL has more good teams (as it's split in half with the Allsvenskan with 14/14 teams) so the competition is better from game to game as opposed to the KHL with 22 teams and some of them are really bad. I'd say the best KHL teams might be better than most if not all SHL teams, so in the end I'm not too sure which league I'd call better.

 

[Caser]

I'm not following the league at all.. no Czechs. My only real knowledge is the Michkov prospect thread. So it was funny to see that Jaskin is leading the league in scoring as of today!

Even if not counting Jaskin, Sulak and Cerveny are still playing there though.

 

[ForsbergForever]

Seems North Americans have no issues about living and working in Russia while the war is going on. Only Europeans have taken a moral stand. So I don't think there's been much of a quality drop.

 

[Czechboy]

Even if not counting Jaskin, Sulak and Cerveny are still playing there though.

I was counting Jaskin.. I was aware of the 3 Czechs. Not enough to make me tune in though. Happy for Jaskin after his Arizona disaster a year ago.

 

[Czechboy]

Seems North Americans have no issues about living and working in Russia while the war is going on. Only Europeans have taken a moral stand. So I don't think there's been much of a quality drop.

I had a thread about this in September! The spots left open by Czechs, Swedes and Finn's were filled by Canadian and US players as their participation went up. 2 less teams too as Latvia and Finland are no longer in KHL. So is that enough to keep it at the same competitive level?

Eg. Czechs/Swedes/Finns replaced by Canadians and Americans and then 2 less teams so more competition to make the league as 50 less spots.

I do think it helped the NLA a lot.

 

[WarriorofTime]

Seems North Americans have no issues about living and working in Russia while the war is going on. Only Europeans have taken a moral stand. So I don't think there's been much of a quality drop.

The Canadians in the KHL are much better than those in the SHL, it makes sense because the money is better.

 

[Albatros]

I don't think money is really decisive as for why many Canadians prefer other destinations than the Nordic countries. Probably for those morally bankrupt individuals ending up in the KHL it's absolutely decisive, but mostly the preference is Central Europe and more for non-hockey reasons.

 

[Dofs]

I feel like KHL might not have the best top players in Europe anymore with some exceptions. NL is actually probably the league that does. But on average KHL top teams might still edge over top SHL teams which will be the second best.

 

[Faterson]

Best in Asia, no doubt.

(To call it "European" is the same misnomer as to call it "continental". Or course, the "National" Hockey League is likewise a misnomer.)

 

[Hanji]

I don't think money is really decisive as for why many Canadians prefer other destinations than the Nordic countries. Probably for those morally bankrupt individuals ending up in the KHL it's absolutely decisive, but mostly the preference is Central Europe and more for non-hockey reasons.

It’s always about the money, generally speaking. The best players gravitate to where money is and the KHL and NL pay imports the most. Money = Talent

Not surprisingly most Euro-league players good enough for the American and Canadian 2022 Olympic squads came from these 2 leagues. Combined breakdown:
KHL - 12
NL - 5
DEL - 4
SHL - 4

 

[Caser]

Best in Asia, no doubt.

(To call it "European" is the same misnomer as to call it "continental". Or course, the "National" Hockey League is likewise a misnomer.)

An "Asian" league where the majority of the teams are located in Europe? Sounds strange to me, unless you have some sort of your own version of the globe that you prefer rather than sticking to the traditional geography.

Although I see it as a bit of an issue that all the non-NA leagues are being labelled as "European", imo it is a bit disrespectful to the pro Asian leagues that are actually out there and have a level totally comparable to some pro European top-tier leagues.

 

[pelderhostiga]

The KHL probably has better high end talent (most talented top players and most talented top teams), but the average level of competition...

Having watched the KHL for a few years, I think this argument could have been partially made even before this years exodus. Every year there were some very questionable teams in the league. There have also been cases of individual players thriving in the KHL whilst struggling in other European leagues because the it has never been such a tactical and/or defensive league on average. That is not to say it hasn't been the second best league in the world, but just to point out that the issue is more nuanced than just to label something "the best of the rest".

Many Western European players left this year and the KHL is undoubtedly worse off. I would also like to point out that many Western European coaches, staff, organizations and even sponsors left the league. They have made an impact too.