KHL Season 2022-23

[eal]

Discuss the 2022-23 KHL season here. So far Ak-Bars Kazan look to be the big movers on the transfer market with the signings of Dinar Khafizullin, Slava Voynov, Vasili Tokranov, Kirill Semyonov, and Vadim Shipachyov.

It will be interesting to see how many foreign players will be signed. I'm guessing Europeans will be few and far between but some North Americans will be happy to play.

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[Jussi]

Discuss the 2022-23 KHL season here. So far Ak-Bars Kazan look to be the big movers on the transfer market with the signings of Dinar Khafizullin, Slava Voynov, Vasili Tokranov, Kirill Semyonov, and Vadim Shipachyov.

It will be interesting to see how many foreign players will be signed. I'm guessing Europeans will be few and far between but some North Americans will be happy to play.

I don't think they'll be able to play.

 

[eal]

You think there will be some sort of ban on them playing? There are enough bank sanction work arounds to allow foreign players to be paid so i don't think that will be an issue.

 

[Rigafan]

UFA GM says foreign players are still invested, though some cannot sign because they are banned from doing so, but he feels the number who will still play will be quite high considering the restrictions

Гендиректор «Салавата»: мы ведём переговоры с легионерами. У них сохраняется интерес к КХЛ

Гендиректор «Салавата»: мы ведём переговоры с легионерами. У них сохраняется интерес к КХЛ

www.championat.com

Also, I read that the KHL may change their import limit from 5 to 3 players

 

[Jussi]

You think there will be some sort of ban on them playing? There are enough bank sanction work arounds to allow foreign players to be paid so i don't think that will be an issue.

Basically anyone who wants to play for their national teams won't be going. Finland and Sweden have already made it publicly clear.

 

[eal]

I dn't imagine that will bother too many North American players, most of whom will never play for the national team anyway.

 

[Jussi]

I dn't imagine that will bother too many North American players, most of whom will never play for the national team anyway.

If they take money from people/companies on sanctions list, they'll be in trouble. I don't think many want to f*** around and find out.

 

[Caser]

If they take money from people/companies on sanctions list, they'll be in trouble. I don't think many want to f*** around and find out.

It also depends on the type of sanctions, for example I think that currently there are no sanctions that are forbidding receiving money from Gazprom and it's subsidiaries, same with Rosneft. On the other hand things might be much worse for Severstal in that way, as Mordashov is pretty heavily sanctioned I think.

 

[eal]

The sanctions must have a lot of loopholes, many foreigners are still playing football and basketball in Russia without issue seemingly.

 

[Jussi]

The sanctions must have a lot of loopholes, many foreigners are still playing football and basketball in Russia without issue seemingly.

You're confusing sanctions with national federations/associations. Plus those who have a contract in place and the season is not finished may find it hard to get out of. For example, if Mikko Lehtonen had left during the playoffs, he would have had to pay 2 million euros.

 

[Urbanskog]

Also, I read that the KHL may change their import limit from 5 to 3 players

So they're just going to pretend that the significantly lowered number of foreign players in the league is a result of their own targets?

 

[Caser]

So they're just going to pretend that the significantly lowered number of foreign players in the league is a result of their own targets?

Not exactly, as the lowered number of foreign players is the main part of the official motivation for this initiative. But it is the official motivation and as for the unofficial one the Avangard GM already hinted that this rule potentially benefits some team that has been actively buying young Russian players recently.

 

[barriers]

 

[Rigafan]

There is rumours of Lada and Yugra being stepped up to replace Dinamo Riga and Jokerit.

An interview with the GM of Lada states that their budget for next season is already set at VHL level so would need some serious and quick upgrades.

 

[eal]

I think the teams have already been confirmed for next season with no mention of Lada or Yugra. The reduced player pool with the loss of foreign players will make expansion tricky in the near future, unless many Russian players return from overseas.

Possible options for expansion seem to be:
Yugra, Lada, a second Belarussian team, and maybe Humo Tashkent - although this may be crazy speculation.

 

[Rigafan]

I think the teams have already been confirmed for next season with no mention of Lada or Yugra. The reduced player pool with the loss of foreign players will make expansion tricky in the near future, unless many Russian players return from overseas.

Possible options for expansion seem to be:
Yugra, Lada, a second Belarussian team, and maybe Humo Tashkent - although this may be crazy speculation.

Wasn't the original idea of Humo to join the KHL after a few seasons?

 

[eal]

Humo need to return to the lower leagues and do well there for a few seasons before being considered serious expansion candidates. Russia is clearly going to become more Asian-facing so expansion into Asia is about the only option. Tashkent probably has more potential than Kunlun at least.

 

[Caser]

While I'm not exactly sure if I'm a fan of this decision, the direct consequences on the KHL free agent market are very interesting already this offseason, as young Russian/Belarussian/Kazakh players are clearly in high demand now.

 

[RobBrown4PM]

I dn't imagine that will bother too many North American players, most of whom will never play for the national team anyway.

I doubt to many NA players are going to invest the time and effort playing in a country where employers can't guarantee payment due to the volatility of its currency and it's (soon to be) near worthlessness on international markets.

The only players the KHL is likely to see are from CIS countries.

 

[Caser]

I doubt to many NA players are going to invest the time and effort playing in a country where employers can't guarantee payment due to the volatility of its currency and it's (soon to be) near worthlessness on international markets.

The only players the KHL is likely to see are from CIS countries.

Very strange argument you have here as I think at this point the consensus opinion is that the sanctions on the ownership is a much more serious threat than the currency-related stuff since it has been more or less stable recently. As for the "soon to be near wortlessness" I hope that your crystal ball is good, as you can easy make a good fortune out of it then.

 

[Rigafan]

I doubt to many NA players are going to invest the time and effort playing in a country where employers can't guarantee payment due to the volatility of its currency and it's (soon to be) near worthlessness on international markets.

The only players the KHL is likely to see are from CIS countries.

The Ruble is actually doing well at the moment and plus they can be paid in foreign currency if they wish/generally are.

I personally think the main issue for foreign players will be if their home governments or federations put restrictions on it. Like Latvia for example.

Otherwise I think we will still seem players go, for the money. There are only so many spaces available in Swiss/DEL/SHL etc and they will be extra competition for them now

 

[Jussi]

The Ruble is actually doing well at the moment and plus they can be paid in foreign currency if they wish/generally are.

I personally think the main issue for foreign players will be if their home governments or federations put restrictions on it. Like Latvia for example.

Otherwise I think we will still seem players go, for the money. There are only so many spaces available in Swiss/DEL/SHL etc and they will be extra competition for them now

That's due to a lot of trickery.

 

[Exarz]

Clearly foreigners are still signing

 

[Rigafan]

I watched some horrible youtube video about this whole KHL import situation, saying how they will struggle to sign players and the rest. What I don't understand is, even without any import players the KHL/Russian league/system is still one of the strongest in hockey.

For example if the UK had these restrictions and no imports could sign the whole hockey system would collapse overnight

 

[ozo]

I watched some horrible youtube video about this whole KHL import situation, saying how they will struggle to sign players and the rest. What I don't understand is, even without any import players the KHL/Russian league/system is still one of the strongest in hockey.

You are simply highlighting how pathetic globally hockey really is. Without thinking about it too much, KHL is losing 30 out of 50 top scorers and half of its starting goalies, if that is not a big deal, then nothing is.