KHL Contraction Part I (Mod Warning - Post #15)

[hansomreiste]

I also read some piece according to which KHL still wants to have a Far Eastern Division, so Amur-Admiral-Kunlun trio is pretty much locked in. I honestly don't understand why the former two have been so bad. Yes, some teams will end up being the worst but Vladivostok in particular is a major town with a relatively vibrant economic outlook. Their arena is small and cute. Why is it so difficult to ice a decent team that is at least mediocre? Do they lack funding? If that's the case, again, Vladivostok is not big on sport and Admiral are probably their best sport product, it is not like they have several big clubs which receive the majority of financial and fan support. Regardless, even if there is no such division, I hope they'll never get kicked. Admiral and Amur are sexy. I had this dream of Avto becoming a decent side... Fantastic city, great fan support, very high potential. It happened. I thought to myself, "Why isn't there any football team in Sochi? It makes no sense!" and boom, they are now fighting for a promotion to Premier Liga. Now it's the turn of Admiral. The sun will rise from the east.

 

[MaxV]

But why second China team? Why not then Japan or Korea?

It could actually work to spark more interest.

Part of the issue with Kunlun is that there is no natural rival.

 

[TheWhiskeyThief]

But why second China team? Why not then Japan or Korea?

It could actually work to spark more interest.

Part of the issue with Kunlun is that there is no natural rival.

But even then with a 6 team loop in the Far East, the travel for just within the conference for Omsk, Astana, Sibir, Tashkent, Bishkek(?), Traktor & Ykaterineburg is cost prohibitive on a every other day kind of schedule. Just look at the AHL with their uneven schedule out West.

 

[Jussi]

Seems Slovan might be negotiating a return to Slovak league:

 

[Jussi]

Seems Slovan might be negotiating a return to Slovak league:

And now we know why:

 

[Rigafan]

Regarding the salary cap:

New Lokomotiv Head Coach, Craig MacTavish had his press conference, usual stuff, but President Yuri Yakovlev decided to add this

"At the same time, Craig is ready to work successfully in a hard wage ceiling, which Lokomotiv, as we know, never exceeds."

Seems abit of an odd statement to throw into a press conference doesn't it?

 

[hansomreiste]

Regarding the salary cap:

New Lokomotiv Head Coach, Craig MacTavish had his press conference, usual stuff, but President Yuri Yakovlev decided to add this

"At the same time, Craig is ready to work successfully in a hard wage ceiling, which Lokomotiv, as we know, never exceeds."

Seems abit of an odd statement to throw into a press conference doesn't it?

I don't understand what he means. It would make perfect sense if Loko were known to be spending 2 billion RUB every season. They never spend too much money anyways. The hard cap won't affect them in any significant way. Maybe he just wanted to mean something along the lines of, "MacTavish knows we will not be able to give him a big budget and he is totally fine with it. Don't assume the guy is upset about having to work with limited budgets." but the phrasing indeed makes it pointless. This is like me coming up to you and just saying "Nah, I'm not flying to Paris tonight."

 

[vorky]

It is very interesting to follow the media and some people. We remember how media published their stories to make pressure on the KHL to keep Severstal in the league. Now, after a year or more than a year, the same media admitted they did propaganda to keep Severstal in the league. And now they are asking themselves, why did we do it? For what reason? Very interesting to follow it.

 

[Rigafan]

It is very interesting to follow the media and some people. We remember how media published their stories to make pressure on the KHL to keep Severstal in the league. Now, after a year or more than a year, the same media admitted they did propaganda to keep Severstal in the league. And now they are asking themselves, why did we do it? For what reason? Very interesting to follow it.

And long may they continue to be in the league, please. Can this same media pull the same stunt for Vityaz too?

 

[vorky]

And long may they continue to be in the league, please. Can this same media pull the same stunt for Vityaz too?

My point is that the media should be neutral. As their journalists admit now they were not neutral in Severstal´s case but on side of the club. I have never read in the press the in-depth analysis of the situation, why the KHL decided to contract some teams & why. Nothing, just whining why only Russian clubs are excluded. Now, after some time, they indirectly admit they made a mistake when advocating the club. Likely they hoped the club will progress, but it has not happened.

I do not think that such "keep Russian teams in the league" hype will happen again. But sure, the media will still claim their opinion that it is not right to exclude Russian teams. But it will not be such big hype as it was with Severstal & Lada.

The league will be in a better position (not so big pressure from media) if the KHL decides to exclude some teams in the future. And the same applies to expansion plans, which not everyone understands at these forums. And I am not sure if people here understand the coverage of the KHL by Russian media.

 

[hansomreiste]

Likely they hoped the club will progress, but it has not happened.

Severstal have progressed very nicely, in my opinion. They were never going to become a contender. For a club of their past and stature, they've done really well so far. Is there any reason why media wanted to keep Severstal in? For what reason, exactly? As much as I respect Severstal, I'd honestly work to keep the cities of Novokuznetsk and Togliatti in the mix before any others.

 

[vorky]

You need to ask the media about the reason. I can just say how it looked like from the side.

1.Severstal is the Russian club & the KHL can not exclude Russian clubs
2.Everything what the KHL is doing is wrong if media consider it wrong

Again, no in-depth analysis of the situation.

Look at their roster & foreigners in the team. That says a lot about them.

 

[alko]

Heard that Vladivostok closed the door. Completely.

Who else will do it?

 

[Acallabeth]

The government of their region (Primorskiy Kray) stated that the clubs they own were no longer going to offer professional contracts, so soccer and basketball teams will join amateur leagues, Admiral's status is uncertain. The club's funds will be used in healthcare.

People hope that Admiral will come back in a couple of years when the pandemic crisis stabilizes, but I wouldn't hold my breath. Their governor is known for consistently terminating the professional sport teams, the team had no traditions and the region easily has more pressing needs than funding a KHL team.

I doubt that many teams will follow this pattern, as hockey teams play a major social role in most cities. But if they do, the future is bleak.

 

[kaiser matias]

The government of their region (Primorskiy Kray) stated that the clubs they own were no longer going to offer professional contracts, so soccer and basketball teams will join amateur leagues, Admiral's status is uncertain. The club's funds will be used in healthcare.

People hope that Admiral will come back in a couple of years when the pandemic crisis stabilizes, but I wouldn't hold my breath. Their governor is known for consistently terminating the professional sport teams, the team had no traditions and the region easily has more pressing needs than funding a KHL team.

I doubt that many teams will follow this pattern, as hockey teams play a major social role in most cities. But if they do, the future is bleak.

I actually went to some Admiral games back in 2017-18 while on vacation there. The arena is nice and new, but way out of town. It was like a 30 minute drive from the downtown area, and just sitting off the highway with nothing else there. Pretty solid crowds though, was fun even if the team was awful.

 

[Jumptheshark]

it will be interesting to see how the down turn affects the KHL. Last year when I went to games and talked to booster clubs some where hanging on by a toe nail

 

[Fatass]

it will be interesting to see how the down turn affects the KHL. Last year when I went to games and talked to booster clubs some where hanging on by a toe nail

No KHL would really hurt the NHL player’s negotiation with their league wouldn’t it? No competition for players from a league that pays a good salary.

 

[Uncle Scrooge]

Heard that Vladivostok closed the door. Completely.

Who else will do it?

Seems like Amur is out as well.

 

[a mangy Meowth]

No KHL would really hurt the NHL player’s negotiation with their league wouldn’t it? No competition for players from a league that pays a good salary.

Uh, the NHL doesn't compete with the KHL to sign players. It's occasionally a threat made by Russian players in contract negotiations I guess.

 

[Bakayoko Ono]

Uh, the NHL doesn't compete with the KHL to sign players. It's occasionally a threat made by Russian players in contract negotiations I guess.

Yeah, the NHL v KHL hasn't been a thing for years now - even with Russian players.

 

[Barclay Donaldson]

No KHL would really hurt the NHL player’s negotiation with their league wouldn’t it? No competition for players from a league that pays a good salary.

What are you talking about? KHL-NHL competition for players is not a thing. The only reason people ever considered it a thing was because a handful of older Russian players left the NHL for the KHL.

Most of the top-10 KHL players in points this season were players who came from North America because they could not make a NHL roster, specifically Shipachyov, Jaskin, Omark, Dawes, Soshnikov, O'Neill, Vey and Macek.

The only reason NHL-quality KHL players stay in the KHL is because they are under contract and can't leave.

 

[Fatass]

What are you talking about? KHL-NHL competition for players is not a thing. The only reason people ever considered it a thing was because a handful of older Russian players left the NHL for the KHL.

Most of the top-10 KHL players in points this season were players who came from North America because they could not make a NHL roster, specifically Shipachyov, Jaskin, Omark, Dawes, Soshnikov, O'Neill, Vey and Macek.

The only reason NHL-quality KHL players stay in the KHL is because they are under contract and can't leave.

KHL pays a lot of money to their top guys, especially Russian don’t they? Remove that league, and the only option for Russian guys would be the lower paying Swiss and Sweden leagues, which isn’t really an option. Tryamkin would either play for us (at our dollar and term) or he plays fir relatively peanuts over there, right? No Russian league, and we could pay him one million, or he can play in Switzerland for 200 k. I think that’s a big deal, isn’t it?

 

[Barclay Donaldson]

KHL pays a lot of money to their top guys, especially Russian don’t they? Remove that league, and the only option for Russian guys would be the lower paying Swiss and Sweden leagues, which isn’t really an option. Tryamkin would either play for us (at our dollar and term) or he plays fir relatively peanuts over there, right? No Russian league, and we could pay him one million, or he can play in Switzerland for 200 k. I think that’s a big deal, isn’t it?

No. Mozyakin was the highest paid player last year and made ₽180 million/$2.3 million. For reference, Zach Kassian makes $1 million more than that. KHL players outside the top-10 get paid less than $1 million. For reference, that's what NHL players makes for entry-level contract. Tryamkin is going to make less money playing in any league outside of NHL. It is not a big deal.

 

[Acallabeth]

No. Mozyakin was the highest paid player last year and made ₽180 million/$2.3 million. For reference, Zach Kassian makes $1 million more than that. KHL players outside the top-10 get paid less than $1 million. For reference, that's what NHL players makes for entry-level contract. Tryamkin is going to make less money playing in any league outside of NHL. It is not a big deal.

Always consider that the KHL salaries are generally reported post-taxes.

 

[Barclay Donaldson]

Always consider that the KHL salaries are generally reported post-taxes.

Even if they are reported post taxes, then my point still stands. I'm not an expert in Russian tax code, but unless they've changed it from 13% then that doesn't change anything. Mozyakin would be making $2.5 million instead of $2.3 million For the average player making far less than 100 million RUB, the difference is tens of thousands of dollars. That's a drop in the bucket, and they're still making less than players on NHL entry-level contracts.

If this was Radulov and his insane +600 million RUB contract, then I understand it. But they aren't.