Today, the 13th of September, a briefing was given by Alexander Medvedev, president of the KHL. At the instigation of the head of the League, the event began with a minute’s silence in memory of the players and employees of the club who lost their lives.
“I will pass on the main conclusions from yesterday evening’s meeting with the President of the Russian Federation, Dmitry Medvedev. Firstly, the government will provide assistance to HC Lokomotiv in fulfilling all contractual obligations to the families of the deceased players and employees in accordance with KHL regulations. There will be no reductions in the sums to be paid. Furthermore, taking into account the varying values of different players’ contracts, a lower limit of the sum of compensation will be set. For those players on more modest contracts, the bar will be raised significantly. It is specifically for this measure that additional resources will be provided. As for the payments according to existing contracts with Lokomotiv, it should be able to meet these sums at the sponsors’ expense alone.â€
“Secondly, the decision was taken about how specifically to revive Lokomotiv. According to the proposals from the club itself and from Russian Railways, Lokomotiv will not be playing in the KHL this season. On the basis of this decision we opened discussions about those measures necessary to rebuild the team. President of Russia Dmitry Medvedev rightly pointed out that questions regarding hockey should be tackled by the relevant bodies. He gave an assignment to the KHL, to the KHL players’ union and to the Ministry of Sport, as part of a program which HC Lokomotiv will put together, to prepare the necessary changes in the KHL procedures. The precise nature of these changes is a matter for the KHL, the players’ union, and the club. Then the proposals from Lokomotiv president Yury Yakovlev were heard. This season Lokomotiv’s youth team will continue playing in the junior league, the MHL. By December the club intends to put together a team to play in the lower league, the VHL. The club also requested that it be guaranteed a place in the VHL play-offs. In addition, Mr. Yakovlev asked that the team could perhaps - and I stress, perhaps - be guaranteed a place in the play-offs in next season’s KHL championship. The League is prepared to take such a decision, but only time can decide whether or not Lokomotiv itself would need this guaranteed place, because I am confident that a year from now the team would have already reached a good enough level for such indulgences to be unnecessary.â€
“As for Lokomotiv’s request to be freed from the Entry Draft, so that all the young players who learn their hockey at the club can stay at the club – I think this is easy to implement. All the juniors will nonetheless still feature in the KHL Scouting Bureau’s ratings, but they will not go into the draft.
“More complicated questions arise concerning how to rebuild the team and how to organize this influx of players, especially taking into account that the team will return by playing in the VHL, and only later in the KHL. These questions need serious discussions, which we will begin in the very near future. We agreed with Mr. Yakovlev that we will start the truly productive work only when all the events of the period of mourning are over. I think by the 30th of October we will have drawn up and agreed upon the changes to the procedures of the KHL, VHL and if necessary, the MHL.
