Gagarin Cup Playoffs 2019

[hansomreiste]

KHL schedules both western teams to play at the same time on the same day yet again. We've been lied to. Traitors.

I honestly have no idea why they are doing this. I don't think it is something about the arenas because games are perfectly balanced like 13-15-17-19-21 March etc... Look, both Ufa and Yekaterinburg are 2hrs ahead of Moscow. If Barys win the final game against Torpedo, this makes three eastern teams with at least 2hrs of difference from western Russia. Moscow time,

13 March

17:00 Avto-whoever
19:30 CSKA-Dynamo

Next day, depending on whom Avangard play (home or away), you can tuck in two games at the same time since there is no other options. However, if you are lucky, you could play Barys-Avangard at 16 and then bring on SKA-train three hours later. This way, you give the audience the possibility to watch every game while not making it difficult for anybody... Local times are very suitable to go to the arenas or watch it on TV. This scheduling makes literally everyone happy. If Avangard play at home, then yeah, you need to play two games at the same time but nobody would be angry about it in this case. What gets me mad is that they have options they don't use.

I know most KHL fans only care about their teams but my suggestions never create a problem for them. If you want to be an international league with a lot of media exposure, you do your best to create as many slots as possible for different set of people. I'm pretty sure there are lots of hockey fans who don't cheer for a particular team but just love the sport itself. Or, fans who will follow the rest of the playoffs even though their teams are already out of it.

This league spans what, over 10 time zones? Put that to use. Turn this into revenue. Learn something from Muricans. Damn.

 

[Milos Krasic]

Russia has 11 time zones so that’s a bad argument. It’s still a domestic league.

 

[hansomreiste]

I don't think they aspire to become a domestic hockey league with Kontinental in their name. In many aspects, I admire the work they do and the effort to grow up but in some they simply lack perspective and seem to be in disarray. You don't need to become a genius to think about maximizing the exposure, it is common sense. I'm not asking three different Moscow teams to play at different times. That would be stupid. Yet if 19:00 in Yekaterinburg and 19:00 in Moscow are two hours away from each other, why not schedule one game after another? What's the point of presenting the games in chunks instead of separately?

Anyways, I am not against KHL becoming a domestic league as long as I can watch it. Kick Vityaz, Severstal, Slovan, Jokerit from the west. Get rid of Neftekhimik, Kunlun, Admiral and Amur. Bring in one more Russian team to make it a 20-team league. Only post-USSR boys allowed. Ditch the conferences. You play nine of your opponents (the closer ones to you) four times (two home, two away) and the rest for two times (one home, one away). Every team ends up playing (9x4 + 10x2) 56 games in regular season. Top six directly go to playoffs, the following four has a mini-tournament to determine the seventh and eighth seed. Mini series are BO3, playoffs as we know it remain the same - BO7. This way, the quality of hockey would skyrocket since basically every team would be really good. Imagine how stacked the playoffs would be in a league like that. Imagine first round pairings of SKA-Ak Bars, CSKA-Salavat Yulaev, Avangard-Avto etc... KHL needs to decide on whether they care about the international market or not.

As the philosopher Leroy Jenkins once said,

"LET'S DO THIS"

 

[Caser]

 

[vorky]

Stupid Russian prospects moving to Canadian major juniors.

 

[MaxV]

Hopefully that could serve as a blueprint for other KHL teams.

There seems to be way too big of an emphasis on vets, even mediocre ones, in KHL.

 

[vorky]

So, Salavat Yulaev leading 2-1 in series. Their coach is Nikolai Tsulygin. The Russian outlet Sport-Express has anti-Tsulygin campaign all season. Would be funny, if his team made the Gagarin Cup Finals, or at least the Eastern Conference Finals.

 

[Dueling Banjos]

Avangard is playing in Moscow area right?

 

[SoundAndFury]

Avangard is playing in Moscow area right?

Yes.

Well Tsulygin definitely had his troubles during the regular season but come playoff time that doesn't count for a lot. It's the old case of "show me a successful coach and I will show you a good goalie playing for him". Metsola is a beast, they are leading the series averaging 1 goal per game, less than 1 per 60. You can't really be too harsh on sports outlets talking trash against Tsulygin but ever so often media picks scapegoat way too early, especially in Russia.

 

[hansomreiste]

Avangard is playing in Moscow area right?

Well it is kind of Avangard Balashikha already... Apparently, we are not going back to Omsk anytime soon. I have a genuine fear of this team appealing only to Muscovites or people from Omsk who live in Moscow, totally leaving the city of Omsk and fans who live there out of the picture.

Has anyone watched Avto-Salavat series so far? If so, what are your impressions? KHL pretty much took away all the hope of "being able to follow more than one series" and I am convinced they will never change their Pejorative Slured ways - they line up two games only when they have absolutely no other choice, as today. Avto limited to three goals in three games sounds so surreal, especially by Salavat of all teams. Metsola is indeed a beast and makes me miss good old Francouz moments in Chelyabinsk but regardless, this sounds too good.

OK, so I just checked his stats for the series so far... %97.4 save percentage. 114 of 117 blocked, to be exact. And it's not even like Kovar gave way - too lazy to calculate his average but I'm totally sure he is above %95.5 or somewhere around it. What did Avto do, shoot from the blue all the time? Even then, nobody would bat an eye on letting in one or two flukes. Wow.

 

[Exarz]

Well it is kind of Avangard Balashikha already... Apparently, we are not going back to Omsk anytime soon. I have a genuine fear of this team appealing only to Muscovites or people from Omsk who live in Moscow, totally leaving the city of Omsk and fans who live there out of the picture.

What are they even suppose to do? Except there being talks about hosting an outdoor game in Omsk (iirc) next season, there is literally not anything you can do at this point. Playing in the Moscow area is best economical- and attendance-wise.

 

[hansomreiste]

What are they even suppose to do? Except there being talks about hosting an outdoor game in Omsk (iirc) next season, there is literally not anything you can do at this point. Playing in the Moscow area is best economical- and attendance-wise.

Fix the arena, maybe? As of now, I have no problem with the team playing in Moscow. It's OK. Moscow or somewhere else, no problem. What worries me the most is the fact that there is absolutely no development about the arena situation. I live in Ankara LOL, Avangard can play in space, it doesn't affect my viewing experience. But this is supposed to be a team from Omsk. You got problems with arena? You move somewhere else for a period of time... That's OK. Problem is when nothing is being done about the arena. For how long will people in Omsk follow this team when all they can do is watch the games online late at night? It is bad for KHL, it is bad for Avangard, it is bad for Omsk and hockey in general. We risk losing one of the best teams in the country. This season is nothing to worry about but the future seems to be hanging in the balance. Avangard won't remain a "top team" in Balashikha, playing in front of 5,000 people max.

Again, as things stand now, I have absolutely no complaints about the team playing in Moscow. But Avangard in Omsk is hundred times better than Avangard in Balashikha. Yet I fear this may not be a reality anytime soon.

 

[vorky]

Fix the arena, maybe? As of now, I have no problem with the team playing in Moscow. It's OK. Moscow or somewhere else, no problem. What worries me the most is the fact that there is absolutely no development about the arena situation. I live in Ankara LOL, Avangard can play in space, it doesn't affect my viewing experience. But this is supposed to be a team from Omsk. You got problems with arena? You move somewhere else for a period of time... That's OK. Problem is when nothing is being done about the arena. For how long will people in Omsk follow this team when all they can do is watch the games online late at night? It is bad for KHL, it is bad for Avangard, it is bad for Omsk and hockey in general. We risk losing one of the best teams in the country. This season is nothing to worry about but the future seems to be hanging in the balance. Avangard won't remain a "top team" in Balashikha, playing in front of 5,000 people max.

Again, as things stand now, I have absolutely no complaints about the team playing in Moscow. But Avangard in Omsk is hundred times better than Avangard in Balashikha. Yet I fear this may not be a reality anytime soon.

Do not worry.

It is not so easy to fix an arena within a few days. How do yo know that nothing is being done about the arena? Because you can not see development on your eyes? A bit complicated to build something with Siberian winter.

For how long will people in Omsk follow this team when all they can do is watch the games online late at night?

Forever.

Avangard organises fan zones in Omsk, etc. It is not like the team moved to another city and forgot about their home.

As I understand it, even with an expansion topic, your opinions are best on feeling and lack of information. Therefore you make mistakes when creating your opinion.

 

[Milos Krasic]

The fact that this even happened to Avangard is laughable.

 

[vorky]

Yes.

Well Tsulygin definitely had his troubles during the regular season but come playoff time that doesn't count for a lot. It's the old case of "show me a successful coach and I will show you a good goalie playing for him". Metsola is a beast, they are leading the series averaging 1 goal per game, less than 1 per 60. You can't really be too harsh on sports outlets talking trash against Tsulygin but ever so often media picks scapegoat way too early, especially in Russia.

I can.

I believe you know how Sport-Express´s anti-Tsulygin campaign works. It is a campaign to make a big pressure on Salavat Yulaev ownership to release Tsulygin SINCE DAY ONE. You know how the outlet and especially one journalist talk about this topic week by week, multiple times. Will the outlet and the journalist publicly apologise to Tsulygin and the team for spreading the fake news? And, apologies week by week, multiple times, for a period the outlet has spread that fake news?

The same can be said about the fake news about Chernyshenko, expansion etc. When will they apologize?

Yes, a journalist can have his own opinion on the issue, but what they have done with Tsulygin and early-days of Chernyshenko is over red-line.

Media should be neutral. Their role is not to create fake reality. Of course, they do it, but it is not their role.

 

[hansomreiste]

Do not worry.
It is not so easy to fix an arena within a few days. How do yo know that nothing is being done about the arena? Because you can not see development on your eyes? A bit complicated to build something with Siberian winter.

I'm not asking to see a building with my own eyes. I'm looking forward to hearing something about the projects in place which could immediately start after Siberian winter, which is almost over anyways. I'm pretty sure Russians know how to build a place starting from the second half of March. Well, taking Arena Omsk into consideration... I'm not so sure. Don't twist my words. Nobody expects arena to be fixed in a couple of days. Share the concrete plans and timetables with me, if there are any. In the end, it has been almost full season since the problems surfaced. Did they just say, "Nah impossible to do something in Siberian winter, better wait for May to think of something" and leave it? If not, there should be some ideas and reports somewhere. Other than some guys from the club saying that "they are working on it", what clue do we have to believe that something is actually being planned?

Forever.

Avangard organises fan zones in Omsk, etc. It is not like the team moved to another city and forgot about their home.

Well it is pretty much like the team moved to another city and forgot about its home. Avangard organizes fan zones and people attend only because they think they'll get their team soon. When the timeline given is three to four years, people will lose interest over time. If Avangard ever go back to Omsk, the interest will surely rise, provided that the team is still competitive. However, any loss throughout the process is a big loss for both KHL and Avangard. The fact that an arena, not even 10yo yet, had this kind of a ridiculous problem is indeed laughable as Krasic said. This alone poses a big problem. Every report I see says that the arena needs a full overhaul, almost requiring to be disassembled to the core. How idiot do you have to be to build such a place?

As I understand it, even with an expansion topic, your opinions are best on feeling and lack of information. Therefore you make mistakes when creating your opinion.

I respect and like your work as a great contributor to this forum and a journalist but I'd strongly recommend you to take a step back from this "them versus us" mentality. You always blame people for "not knowing enough" when it is simply a matter of different opinions. People might have different ideas and in fact, some might know one or two things more than you. You can't take any criticism towards KHL. Calm down. We are all here in this almost-dead section only because we are interested in this league and what other posters have to say. We are not "enemies". If you wanna live in an alternative reality where KHL is the most perfect thing ever with absolutely nothing to criticize, then it is your opinion. But this reality we live in is not like that.

I will not speak any further on this matter in order not to derail the topic even more as this thread is supposed to be about the playoffs. You're free to believe everything is right and good about the league when people in Omsk are robbed of their team and then also taxpayer money for the reconstruction of the arena when the city itself is in shambles. But whatever, all is fine, no problems at all, who needs development when Russia is already glorious.

 

[vorky]

The head of Omsk Region said today that the project will get the final approval in May or so. You can find articles at Russian press agencies.

They found out the problems with the arena in the summer. Right? They made analysis if there is a sense to rebuilt it or to demolish the arena. Then, they secured the financing of the reconstruction. And meantime, there were almost one-month long holidays in Russian. And they secured the WJC in Omsk. Plus, the process of getting the final approval is in place. I think they have done a lot since last summer.

If you want to know more details, you can google or look at skyscrapercity.com

Avangard will get home. I do not think there will be any problem with losing fans. Not at all.

It is another story that the arena has such a problem now.

Perhaps, you get me wrong, it is not "them versus us". I criticise especially journalists, who should have all knowledge about the topic, they talk. They have all the resources and opportunities to get information. And still, they do not do their work and present fake-news. Of course, ordinary fans have the kind of information they are fed by media. That is OK. If you carefully read my post, you must know that I want the ordinary fans to be informed correctly. All.

If I criticise some posters, there is a reason for that. They are way-known trolls and KHL haters. They do not want to discuss the KHL, they only want to create conflicts among posters. They are not interested in the KHL at all.

 

[Atas2000]

So, Salavat Yulaev leading 2-1 in series. Their coach is Nikolai Tsulygin. The Russian outlet Sport-Express has anti-Tsulygin campaign all season. Would be funny, if his team made the Gagarin Cup Finals, or at least the Eastern Conference Finals.

It is possible with that playoff grid. Although this might be the first time I route for a western team to win in the finals(if it's not SKA). Just because I don't think the East has a deserving contender this time. If Avto somehow made it I'd cheer for them and their coach, but they'd be severe underdogs to win.

 

[Atas2000]

Hopefully that could serve as a blueprint for other KHL teams.

There seems to be way too big of an emphasis on vets, even mediocre ones, in KHL.

For that blueprint you need a school to produce that amount of talent.

 

[MaxV]

For that blueprint you need a school to produce that amount of talent.

Or management that recognizes talented players on other rosters that need change of scenery.

 

[Atas2000]

Or management that recognizes talented players on other rosters that need change of scenery.

There you'd have a problem with other teams not letting them go. Happens in every league btw.

 

[MaxV]

There you'd have a problem with other teams not letting them go. Happens in every league btw.

HC Sochi is an example of that. Their school is ... hmm ... a work in progress and they don't have limitless funding, but I would say they had a solid season. They were able to find some guys that were undervalued.

 

[Nosswor]

Avto are looking terrible in this series. Clearly they peaked way too soon.

 

[SoundAndFury]

I don't think they have looked that bad, hit posts and missed quite a lot of chances. Today sure, they were behind the 8ball early and in the 3rd didn't really try but the series is definitely not over.

 

[Atas2000]

HC Sochi is an example of that. Their school is ... hmm ... a work in progress and they don't have limitless funding, but I would say they had a solid season. They were able to find some guys that were undervalued.

Only they are a KHL project from the get go...