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

[Jussi]

Supposedly players are looking for new clubs.

 

[martin1983]

@ Martin... many of those leagues mentioned are bellow KHL quality. So your point is a moot point. The ones in the NHL are not likely to simply come over, and the ones in leagues bellow the KHL are likely to remain in those leagues. So, my concern that Kosice would fall out of the league if it joins it in the near future still stands.

Leagues I mentioned are main suppliers of players for KHL or NHL. Players from this leagues are playing substantial role there. So if this works for other teams it should work for another one Slovak team..

In those leagues there are 157 players
+ players without contracts
+ players from other leagues (for example in VHL there are another 8 Slovak players, just in last weeks KHL teams signed 5 players from VHL!)
+ count in 18 players with NHL experiences from Slovak Extraliga (Stumpel, Svatos, Bicek, Petrovicky, Lintner, Suchy...)
+ count in former slovak national team players from Slovak Extraliga (Pavlikovský, Strbak, Milo, Vaic..)

Of course some of them are unrealistic, some are just not good enough but it's hard to believe that there are not 20 players which could form the basis for another slovak khl team.

In my opinion this is not about players, this is all about:
1. money - there are not sponsors for two KHL projects in Slovakia (now)
2. politics - it's quite pathetic but american company US Steel will not allow it.. and we are in back at 1...

Supposedly players are looking for new clubs.

I'm surprised they waited so long

 

[Jablkon]

I think some one mentioned you guys don't want to combine their leagues.. I think for Slovaks, its really wise to have KHL teams. Their own league is not strong enough. Isn't it alredy a development league, like all euro leagues are for NHL and lately even for KHL.

You really simplify it. Their own league is maybe not strong enough now, but letting teams go abroad make this league fall to oblivion forever. They could have try much more to restart the hockey in Slovakia.

I can not really say that euro leagues are development leagues. It is always first league in the country. The top what all fans watching. Even most players have dream to play for the team where they grow up, be succesfull in national team and eventually upgrade their carreer in better league, which is NHL and eventually KHL. I bet you would never say that Jokerit, AIK, Sparta etc. are development teams. That is simply not possible from historical and other aspects.....not even talking about limited rosters.

 

[Jablkon]

Last time i checked KHL is professional and not development league.

This forum has a problem that there are too many "old fans" who are too stuck into their own little declining and egoistic leagues. If you prefer to have feeder leagues for biggest leagues to grab freely from, feel free. Let us other enjoy the KHL as it is, and don't tell us (and especially don't tell the Russians who finance it) how to run it and who to have in it. So far KHL proved that they know just a tiny bit more about everything than other smaller leagues.

Anyone who doesn't see that future is in expanding into new hockey markets (Be it Croatia or more hockey familiar like Denmark, Norway, France or similar) and that hockey cannot live from rivalries and 20k salaries is deluded. KHL, EBEL, some potential "all-scandi" leagues are the future. Like it or not..

) so everyone who just want to keep local teams in local leagues and let them play in champions league is egoist?? Ok, maybe they should try to remove Dynamo and Hajduk somewhere else to open your eyes....Very easy statement from somebody whose hockey federation can just benefits from KHL in all aspects .....

 

[Jussi]

) so everyone who just want to keep local teams in local leagues and let them play in champions league is egoist?? Ok, maybe they should try to remove Dynamo and Hajduk somewhere else to open your eyes....Very easy statement from somebody whose hockey federation can just benefits from KHL in all aspects .....

Some people seem to still have this idea that having a KHL team will magically improve the quality of the whole hockey development in one country, completely ignoring how wide spread hockey development is in the traditional countries like Finland, Sweden, Switzerland, Czech Rep. and Slovakia. Taking away teams from their leagues will only diminish that development.

 

[Urbanskog]

They sure do negotiate for long...

 

[Jussi]

They sure do negotiate for long...

Players have been told they're free to look for new clubs. That's the info that says where things are going.

 

[Urbanskog]

Players have been told they're free to look for new clubs. That's the info that says where things are going.

Source?

 

[Jussi]

Source?

Check Jatkoaika.

 

[BlueBratislava]

@Jussi @Jablkon
I understand your opinions, but they sound like they are from year 1985. A private hockey team is a business and they should have the right to go to whichever league they want, as long as the people around the league will accept that team. The fact that national federations in Europe employ incompetent people doesn't have to make teams suffer and they can't be held hostage in leagues that are not improving or even maintaining status quo. Slovakian Extraliga used to be good, watchable hockey with the now legendary "big four teams" but 15 years of not doing anything by Federation and League leadership caused the team owners get thoughts of leaving. Slovan was the first to leave to the KHL, 2nd league Nové Zámky went to MOL Liga, ŠHK 37 Pieštany want to go to the EBEL, Košice are now happy to at least play the Champions League after years of trying to do something on another than national level. Come on, it can't be any more obvious that Slovakian hockey is alive and full of energy and ideas, but the Slovakian market alone is too small for corporate sponsors to be interested than forming a team with maximum €2.5-€3 Million per season inside the country. Multinational projects are the only way of creating individual strong teams in Europe, but if we each keep playing separately in our small countries the NHL will eat up everything there is starting with media presence and ending with players!

 

[Sucro]

Medvedev said multiple times that the big hockey markets is what the KHL is waiting for (i.e. Germany, Sweden, Switzerland). They did not accept VÃ¥lerenga's application straight away, I find it highly doubtful that the league would consider Košice as a possible candidate, notwithstanding that they would have to find financing.

 

[Jussi]

@Jussi @Jablkon
I understand your opinions, but they sound like they are from year 1985. A private hockey team is a business and they should have the right to go to whichever league they want, as long as the people around the league will accept that team. The fact that national federations in Europe employ incompetent people doesn't have to make teams suffer and they can't be held hostage in leagues that are not improving or even maintaining status quo. Slovakian Extraliga used to be good, watchable hockey with the now legendary "big four teams" but 15 years of not doing anything by Federation and League leadership caused the team owners get thoughts of leaving. Slovan was the first to leave to the KHL, 2nd league Nové Zámky went to MOL Liga, ŠHK 37 Pieštany want to go to the EBEL, Košice are now happy to at least play the Champions League after years of trying to do something on another than national level. Come on, it can't be any more obvious that Slovakian hockey is alive and full of energy and ideas, but the Slovakian market alone is too small for corporate sponsors to be interested than forming a team with maximum €2.5-€3 Million per season inside the country. Multinational projects are the only way of creating individual strong teams in Europe, but if we each keep playing separately in our small countries the NHL will eat up everything there is starting with media presence and ending with players!

The problem in that thought pattern is that there isn't money nor interest in hockey in Europe/world that much nor can one expect Russians wanting to finance all the non-Russian teams indefinitely.

 

[TollefsenFan]

The problem in that thought pattern is that there isn't money nor interest in hockey in Europe/world that much nor can one expect Russians wanting to finance all the non-Russian teams indefinitely.

Minsk is Lukashenkos team. Im sure its the same With Barys. Donetsk is more or less russian allrdy. Riga got alot of supporters and should survive in the KHL. Im not sure about Slovan. They need a rival. Jokerit will be like Lev.

 

[ozo]

Riga got alot of supporters and should survive in the KHL.

Unfortunately, not true. The moment Russian gas stops financing Riga, the team goes bust. Natural team income and local sponsors make up only a fraction of the team budget. If Gazprom withdraws its support budget is bit higher than your average SEL team possess.

 

[Urbanskog]

Minsk is Lukashenkos team. Im sure its the same With Barys. Donetsk is more or less russian allrdy. Riga got alot of supporters and should survive in the KHL. Im not sure about Slovan. They need a rival. Jokerit will be like Lev.

That's the most pointless statement I've heard for a while. Jokerit is a team with traditions, history and a large fan base whereas Lev is an artificially established team.

 

[Jonimaus]

That's the most pointless statement I've heard for a while. Jokerit is a team with traditions, history and a large fan base whereas Lev is an artificially established team.

Jokerits tradition is in Finland, not KHL. I know if a swedish team moved to KHL that team would have to work REALLY REALLY HARD to regain the trust from the fans, if they spent 2 seasons in the bottom of KHL it would basically be a doomed team. They wouldn't go "oh cool, my team is playing in a new league I don't care about at all, well cool, I'll just continue going to games against teams I never heard of!". I assume that's the situation he's talking about.

 

[Urbanskog]

Jokerits tradition is in Finland, not KHL. I know if a swedish team moved to KHL that team would have to work REALLY REALLY HARD to regain the trust from the fans, if they spent 2 seasons in the bottom of KHL it would basically be a doomed team. They wouldn't go "oh cool, my team is playing in a new league I don't care about at all, well cool, I'll just continue going to games against teams I never heard of!". I assume that's the situation he's talking about.

I'm sure the fans will miss playing against the likes of SaiPa and Pelicans.

 

[Jonimaus]

I'm sure the fans will miss playing against the likes of SaiPa and Pelicans.

Yep, replacing them with such well known and awesome teams as Severstal Cherepovets and Atlant Moscow Oblast is the best thing to ever happen to Jokerit.

 

[Urbanskog]

Yep, replacing them with such well known and awesome teams as Severstal Cherepovets and Atlant Moscow Oblast is the best thing to ever happen to Jokerit.

Or SKA St. Petersburg and Dynamo Moscow.

 

[Jonimaus]

Or SKA St. Petersburg and Dynamo Moscow.

Or HIFK. Guess which one fans care more about.

 

[Urbanskog]

Or HIFK. Guess which one fans care more about.

Jokerit-HIFK sure was a great rivalry but they can't just play all their matches against them.

 

[Jonimaus]

Jokerit-HIFK sure was a great rivalry but they can't just play all their matches against them.

And I'm sure they'll have many flourishing rivalries against the KHL teams. I wonder what will happen if Jokerit will be a bottom/mid team for 2 seasons, will the fans come back or will they hunt the owners?

 

[Urbanskog]

And I'm sure they'll have many flourishing rivalries against the KHL teams. I wonder what will happen if Jokerit will be a bottom/mid team for 2 seasons, will the fans come back or will they hunt the owners?

That we cannot know yet.

 

[loppa*]

Way way way waaaaay too off topic.

 

[Jussi]

Minsk is Lukashenkos team. Im sure its the same With Barys. Donetsk is more or less russian allrdy. Riga got alot of supporters and should survive in the KHL. Im not sure about Slovan. They need a rival. Jokerit will be like Lev.

I guess you missed out the posts by Latvian posters about the financial difficulties and the decreasing budget...