KHL Trades, Rumors and Free Agent Talk Part 5

[powerplaymaker]

Karri Rämö might be going back to Omsk and there are some (messageboard) rumours about NHL goalie Antti Niemi to join Jokerit.

Also some rumours regarding Jokerit:

Teemu Pulkkinen (RW)
Iiro Pakarinen (LW/RW)
Jani Hakanpää (D)
Sami Sandell (LW/C)

I'm hoping that Pulkkinen would return to his youth team Jokerit. Fans love the Holy Slapper. Pakarinen would also be a interesting signing. He's a bit like Hartikainen or Osala; a big(ish) guy who can score. Plays with great attitude.

Not sure if mentioned here already (old rumour) but Olli Palola and Veli-Matti Savinainen are headin' to China.

 

[SoundAndFury]

Omsk has Furch signed for one more year so I'm not buying that Ramo rumor.

And sure, if Tolvanen is gone for good (which he most likely is) getting Pulkkinen should be a priority for Jokerit.

A lot of Finnish guys will move to China with Tapola in charge now, that's for sure.

 

[Jussi]

Karri Rämö might be going back to Omsk and there are some (messageboard) rumours about NHL goalie Antti Niemi to join Jokerit.

Also some rumours regarding Jokerit:

Teemu Pulkkinen (RW)
Iiro Pakarinen (LW/RW)
Jani Hakanpää (D)
Sami Sandell (LW/C)

I'm hoping that Pulkkinen would return to his youth team Jokerit. Fans love the Holy Slapper. Pakarinen would also be a interesting signing. He's a bit like Hartikainen or Osala; a big(ish) guy who can score. Plays with great attitude.

Not sure if mentioned here already (old rumour) but Olli Palola and Veli-Matti Savinainen are headin' to China.

I don't buy that Niemi rumour because he had a good end to the regular season so one would think he could land a job in NHL. Also Hakanpää himself has said he wants another go at NHL and last week I read in the papers that NHL teams are interested in him so I don' think he'll play in Europe next season.

 

[SoundAndFury]

But I think that's what those rumors are - teams being interested in certain players. Some of those players are interested in playing for that team, some are not.

 

[powerplaymaker]

I don't buy that Niemi rumour because he had a good end to the regular season so one would think he could land a job in NHL.

It's possible, even likely that IF Niemi is coming to Jokerit he made the deal before that good run at the end of the season. On the other hand there is the situation in Omsk with Furch as @SoundAndFury mentioned. They actually have three goalies at the moment for the upcoming season. Sometimes these rumors end up to be just rumors... We'll see.

Also Hakanpää himself has said he wants another go at NHL and last week I read in the papers that NHL teams are interested in him so I don' think he'll play in Europe next season.

Hakanpää might be going back NHL indeed, but from what I understand Jokerit is the plan B. Will a 2-way deal in the NHL/AHL be enough for him? Will anyone offer a 1-way deal? Again; we'll see.

 

[SoundAndFury]

So Byvaltsev and Zernov go to SKA. What a shocker.

Oh, Kruchinin and Kravtsov rumored as well. What a great league this is. Just let SKA make 4 teams before the season and by January they will know who of those guys make the first one.

But yes yes, I'm sure the board will react to this situation and make all the necessary decisions, must have caught them by surprise. What a f***ing joke.

This is an actual quote of the vice-president of Amur:

"У нас идут переговоры с руководством петербургского СКА, как базового клуба сборной России, о переходе Алексея Бывальцева, как это было и с Артемом Зубом"

So a foregone conclusion Russian NT = SKA now. KHL is SKA and 25 feeder clubs, evidently.

 

[Alessandro Seren Rosso]

So a foregone conclusion Russian NT = SKA now.

Now?

 

[SoundAndFury]

Now?

Yes, it is now a foregone conclusion. It was just a conclusion a year ago.

 

[hansomreiste]

So we're back to Soviet League. SKA is the new CSKA. How nice. Their obsession with NT is mind-boggling. As if it would suddenly become a no-name team if Russian star players plied their trade in different teams.

 

[TommySalo]

So we're back to Soviet League. SKA is the new CSKA. How nice. Their obsession with NT is mind-boggling. As if it would suddenly become a no-name team if Russian star players plied their trade in different teams.

No need of whinning. I remember that at the start of the season you were complaining that this year would be the most boring in deciding the champion.
Definitely SKA and if not them, definitely CSKA.
But surprise, surprise AK Bars led 3-1 /far from a series where you expected SKA or CSKA to have the easiest possible walk towards lifting the KHL trophy/.
Too early for conclusions and complaints. This season has been fantastic. I am pleased to see vast improvement in teams such ass Traktor, Amur, Jokerit, Spartak, Avtomobilist.
Hopefully next season will be even more competitive /without Yugra and Lada/, but the league must add teams from ice hockey orienated countries - Switzerland, Sweden, Germany, Czech Republic. Well, I won't mind teams from Danmark, Norway or France too.

 

[vorky]

Just watching an interview of agent Babaev, he told "Sibir has to decide if they want to trade Vereshchagin to another KHL club for some bucks or to loose him for nothing to the NHL. He wants to play for a team competing for the Cup."

I do not say that "the SKA thing" is OK, but people complaing about this thing does not realise how a market works. Look at Sibir last summer, they lost Shumakov, Okulov & Shalunov to CSKA for REALLY good bucks, per reports it was around 400 million rubles (6-7 million USD today with low ruble, above 10 million USD before 2014). Even it was 3-4 million USD for them, it was much more than loosing them for the NHL in case of valid NHL Transfer Agreement with Russia. You know how much money the NHL pays to European clubs? 200 000 to 240 000 USD per player. So, Sibir would get around 600 000 USD for them from the NHL, better said Sibir would get nothing because the FHR would get the money & re-distributed them. What is better for Sibir in such conditions? And for other smaller clubs.

According to the transfer agreement between the NHL and the European federations, teams receive about $240,000 per player they lose

see

Another situation would be if all clubs would be on a level of SKA/CSKA in money department. Salary cap or no salary cap.... you can not blame SKA if another club is not able to have solid payroll budget. Novokuznetsk had salary payroll around 100 or 200 mil rubles when salary cap was +/- 900 mil rubles (+ luxury tax). If we believe reports, Lada & Yugra had around 350 mil rubles this season. The league needs clubs capable of having at least 600 million rubles for salary payrolls if salary cap is 900 mil rubles, total 17 clubs reached this sum this season if reports are true. Sums without bonuses.

 

[Jussi]

Just watching an interview of agent Babaev, he told "Sibir has to decide if they want to trade Vereshchagin to another KHL club for some bucks or to loose him for nothing to the NHL. He wants to play for a team competing for the Cup."

I do not say that "the SKA thing" is OK, but people complaing about this thing does not realise how a market works. Look at Sibir last summer, they lost Shumakov, Okulov & Shalunov to CSKA for REALLY good bucks, per reports it was around 400 million rubles (6-7 million USD today with low ruble, above 10 million USD before 2014). Even it was 3-4 million USD for them, it was much more than loosing them for the NHL in case of valid NHL Transfer Agreement with Russia. You know how much money the NHL pays to European clubs? 200 000 to 240 000 USD per player. So, Sibir would get around 600 000 USD for them from the NHL, better said Sibir would get nothing because the FHR would get the money & re-distributed them. What is better for Sibir in such conditions? And for other smaller clubs.

That's not how it works in other European countries. The money goes via the hockey federation but it goes to the club or clubs the player played the 3-4 seasons before signing an NHL contract. If the player represented the same club all those seasons, then they get all the money.

 

[ozo]

Babaev is the worst of them all - the last thing he cares about is Sibir's finances, he is just using NHL as a blackmailing tool to let his client and himself to earn more from CSKA and abuse RFA contract status league has tried to implement.

 

[vorky]

Babaev is the worst of them all - the last thing he cares about is Sibir's finances, he is just using NHL as a blackmailing tool to let his client and himself to earn more from CSKA and abuse RFA contract status league has tried to implement.

Sadly, all agents do that. Babaev or no Babaev.

Still, fact is fact, it is better to sell a player to another KHL club than loose him to abroad.

 

[SoundAndFury]

I do not say that "the SKA thing" is OK, but people complaing about this thing does not realise how a market works. Look at Sibir last summer, they lost Shumakov, Okulov & Shalunov to CSKA for REALLY good bucks, per reports it was around 400 million rubles (6-7 million USD today with low ruble, above 10 million USD before 2014). Even it was 3-4 million USD for them, it was much more than loosing them for the NHL in case of valid NHL Transfer Agreement with Russia. You know how much money the NHL pays to European clubs? 200 000 to 240 000 USD per player. So, Sibir would get around 600 000 USD for them from the NHL, better said Sibir would get nothing because the FHR would get the money & re-distributed them. What is better for Sibir in such conditions? And for other smaller clubs.

There is no way in hell bums (relatively) like Vereshchagin make it in the NHL. Even if he did go to NA for some quality riding buses in the AHL time Sibir would still hold his rights once he eventually came back after a year or two. Like Ozo said this is nothing but a blackmail from the agent's part and it's possible mostly because big teams are flooding the market by buying players they don't need for ridiculous prices just so other team doesn't get them, pretty much.

Your goal should be to make "REALLY good" bucks by being competitive and creating a good product people are willing to pay for. It would help with creditability of the league as well. Obviously, just selling your best players to stay afloat like Amur does is a much easier option. Sibir isn't the case, they are actually trying to have a good hockey team and that's why they had some huge successes in this league but they are being robbed constantly by this moronic situation you are trying to defend.

How many RFA guys could have legitimately left Sibir for the NHL career? Tarasenko. Zaitsev maybe (ii think he wasn't RFA by the time he has left). Shalunov a huge maybe. End of the list.

 

[ozo]

SoundAndFury just nailed it all. There is no abroad for Vereshchagin as there simply is no other country in the world where he would earn even 20% of what he makes in Russia with Sibir.

 

[SoundAndFury]

Even those prices of player transfers to the NHL are so low exactly because of that. 1/5 euro prospects become NHL players and 1/10 become somewhat impact ones. If NHL was forced to pay more so many more players would just look for a chance to go to the NHL for free (maybe moving to the CHL at a very young age, etc.) because otherwise, they wouldn't get a chance since risking money for a future bottom pairing D isn't viable. But NHL pays as much for both Tarasenkos and Bereglazovs/Vereshchagins so mostly you gain some for an irrelevant replaceable piece, sometimes you lose a lot for a future star. It all adds up and evens out.

 

[SoundAndFury]

Avto unofficially has a deal with Dawes, Sexton and Da Costa. Those are some huge acquisitions.

 

[vorky]

Goalie Danny Taylor (@Senators) to Sibir


Julius Junttila (@OulunKarpatFi) to Sibir.

 

[SoundAndFury]

They reportedly have a deal with Charles Bertrand as well but I'm not too optimistic about it, a lot of those Finnish acquisitions fail lately. The difference between Liiga and KHL just really significant at the moment.

By the way, one more peril about the state of KHL. By V. Kravtsov, this time about the possibility of him changing teams:

"человек подневольный: куда скажут, туда и пойду. Пожеланий нет. Агент тоже мало что решает. Решают два-три-четыре клуба. Не наше дело, нас все равно никто не спросит»,".

For those who don't understand: "I will go wherever I'm told. No wishing. An agent also decides little, everything is decided by 2-3-4 clubs. It's not our business, nobody asks us anyway".

From the wording, I'm guessing he's not too thrilled with this situation. In a way, that's normal but at the same time this really gives no edge to the KHL over just going to the NHL. And that 2-4 teams fact, which we are all aware off, is just sad.

 

[malkinfan]

They reportedly have a deal with Charles Bertrand as well but I'm not too optimistic about it, a lot of those Finnish acquisitions fail lately. The difference between Liiga and KHL just really significant at the moment.

By the way, one more peril about the state of KHL. By V. Kravtsov, this time about the possibility of him changing teams:

"человек подневольный: куда скажут, туда и пойду. Пожеланий нет. Агент тоже мало что решает. Решают два-три-четыре клуба. Не наше дело, нас все равно никто не спросит»,".

For those who don't understand: "I will go wherever I'm told. No wishing. An agent also decides little, everything is decided by 2-3-4 clubs. It's not my business, nobody asks me anyway".

From the wording, I'm guessing he's not too thrilled with this situation. In a way, that's normal but at the same time this really gives no edge to the KHL over just going to the NHL. And that 2-4 teams fact, which we are all aware off, is just sad.

There goes his playing time

 

[Alessandro Seren Rosso]

Sibir signed Taylor? Finally Krasikov will be their first goalie, then

 

[SoundAndFury]

Sibir signed Taylor? Finally Krasikov will be their first goalie, then

I think they understand that; he is just an insurance policy. And at least 2 times cheaper than Salak was.

 

[Alessandro Seren Rosso]

I think they understand that; he is just an insurance policy. And at least 2 times cheaper than Salak was.

To me it's a waste of a legioneer's roster spot.

 

[SoundAndFury]

To me it's a waste of a legioneer's roster spot.

True but a reasonably competent Russian goalie is probably more expensive. Also I think import spots lost a bit of value lately as Russian teams really have a hard time finding/attracting quality players.