Beesfan said:
If the Russian government or a franchise wants to pay money to develop players starting at age 7 rather than private leagues where kids pay, then that is their business, but this does not give them a claim on this person for the rest of eternity. USA hockey now has the NTDP, and they do this for the sake of advancing the sport and improving US performance in international tournaments, but they don't ask for compensation for a player like Phil Kessel even though they put a lot of resources into him.
1. It doesn't give them any claim for the rest of eternity. But it should give them some right to reap the benefits of their seeds. If players will start leaving Russia with barely any compensation at the age of 18, like Kovalchuk, then Russia won't have any incentive to produce good athletes. Why?
2. Because all the good ones are leaving for America, that's why. Because NTDP promotes hockey in US - yes, but it also has an emphasis on developing GOOD hockey players that will play professionally some day and maybe even represent their country. No one will expect Erik Johnson to go to Russia to entertain Russian fans. We expect him to stay here in North America. That's why it's so much harder for the Russians.
My opinion is that Pittsburgh should try every tactic they can to get Malkin to the USA, but at the end of the day, they must comply with the law. If it is not possible to lawfully get Malkin over here, then they need to pay up or wait.
Pittsburgh will comply with the law, definitely. Mario spoke to Velichkin a dozen times this year, and obviously has been utmostly professional.
Sammy said:
I dont really understand your point, but do you think here in Canada ,hockey schools, the time of all the volunteers, the cost of all the equipment, the cost of icetime, the cost of going to tourneys, membership , hotels....etc is all free?
ummm... The consesus is that North American families are able to support their kids. That's number one. And number two - the kids aren't really going anywhere. A youngster from Saskatchewan might go to Florida, yes, but he's still in the same league. He still works for the North American audience. He basically contributes to the overall North American economy. It's not the same when Russian hockey coaches develop players and then see them wave goodbye on the first plane across the ocean. And there are many many many more ice rinks in Canada than there are in Russia. You can blame the Russian government for this (as for many other things), but even in USSR with all the humongous investments that went into sports, Montreal alone had more closed rinks that the whole USSR combined. Puts things into perspective, doesn't it?
Kirk Muller said:
No. Investing into developing a hockey player is a free choice. It does not obligate the player to do anything in return other than play hockey for you at the present time. There is no contract that binds them to do anything more than that.
Yes, it IS a free choice. But don't you think that the NHL benefits with talent like Kovalchuk, Malkin, Ovechkin, etc... ? I think it does.
The obligation is only contractual and moral. Malkin has a contract until 2008. That's contractual. He already spent an extra year in Magnitogorsk. That's the moral side. Meaning that the contract has to be dignified. And I'm not sure that he's in any way angry at his own club (yet) about the situation. He understands that Metallurg should get the compensation.
If Malkin did indeed sign a contract that said he would play for them through 2008, then yes, there should be compensation. On the other hand, it is no clear what type of contract he signed. Apparently, in Russia, you can simply resign from your hockey contract just like any other job. In this case, there is no reason to give Metallurg any compensation. They can posture and threaten, and then sue and lose just like Dynamo did with Ovechkin.
He signed a typical Russian contract. The laws are a little different in Russia, yes, but that's for American (yes, I said American) courts to decide. That's why going to court about this is a good idea. Velichkin, Magnitogorsk's GM, said that they would some clarity on this, and he trusts American courts. Here's the deal - in Russia an athlete is not an official profession. That could give both parties a couple of problems to discuss. If the courts say that Russian contracts can be nulled and voided, then that's the decision. It means that Russia will have to conjure a good judicial system before its citizens want to go and question other nations' business laws. I'm more discussing the moral side of this, anyway.
The NHL would have an interest in signing an agreement that allows for the secure and systematic transfer of players without any surprises and without having to negotiate individually with any team. It's not necessarily right, but it's in the NHL's interest.
I think it's in everyone's best interest. There are aspects of American sports leagues that are extremely positive - like strict organization and emphasis on humane, but professional treatment.
Kirk Muller said:
So what ?
If they decide to invest tons of resources and time into a player, that's their free choice. It does not give them any claim over the player.
I find it comical that the only people who defend the idea of Ovechkins or Malkins being stopped from playing in North America are either the frustrated old boys of the RSL, or expatriate Russian nationalist youths who've lived most of their life in the priviledge of North America.
What is so comical about it? I think it's very logical to expect Russians (and people of other nationalities, as well, as evidenced by responses in this thread) to be in generally for compensation. I would love to enjoy the kids play here, but being Russian gives me some perspective on what things are. And insofar, I've lived most of my life in Russia, and there has only been one or two really good competitive athletes coming out of my city of 700,000 inhabitants on Russia's Pacific Coast. And it's frustrating enough to see the best go to Moscow. But then at least we'd see them on TV or something. NHL is the whole other planet. And I'm not saying that our city would get compensated in any way - actually, a team like Magnitogorsk would probably snatch our best talent anyway by the time they'd reach 13-14 years of age (like what happened with Chistov (from Chelyabinsk, I think), Zherdev, Babchuk (both from Kiev), and some other kids). But when we're talking about a kid like Malkin, Magnitogorsk's home-boy, I would expect Metallurg to ask some compensation for him. A few million dollars, perhaps, depending on contractual agreements, but something tangible for years and years of determined hard work. You can laugh about it, but I find NOTHING comical in trying to help my home-country get back on its feet. Who knows if this money will be spent on another Pavel Rosa or on a couple of kids who would otherwise roam the polluted streets of Magnitogorsk. It would still be a plus. Laugh all you want, but the joke's on you.
