Speculation: Non-Russian KHL players who could play in the NHL next season

[Mestaruus]

I wonder if the KHL teams will be suffering financially if the sanctions continue(which is highly likely), and will no longer be able to pay players at the same rate that they are now?

KHL teams definitely will be suffering. They are saying all kinds of BS in the KHL right now with false information. Such as it is KHL's own decision to limit the number of foreign KHL players per team. As if those players didn't want to get away from Russia. They want to make it look good in the eyes of Russian people, as if everything's normal and that it's only a special operation in Ukraine.

Also they just yesterday gave fake information about Finnish players signing with KHL teams for next season. The truth was that for example one of the players Miro Aaltonen signed his KHL contract on January 2022 before Putin's invasion. This became a sport news headline in Finland.

KHL team of SKA St. Petersburg was blackmailing Finnish defender Mikko Lehtonen for paying a fine of 2 million euros if he didn't finish the season in the KHL playoffs with his team.

I already know that 1-2 KHL teams that are Russian teams can't continue in the KHL. KHL already added at least one new Russian team for the KHL and they are considering to add one more Belarussian team to KHL. Belarus currently has one KHL team, Minsk.

 

[captainpaxil]

I think the flyers are bringing over Russian goalie prospect fedotov. After a silver medal and a Gregorian cup I think he's proven all he needs to over there.
Also even if the political situation is messy Comcast can afford to hire blackwater lol

 

[Guttersniped]

I don't think NHL would not allow Russian players to play (many of them probably have green card already). But KHL(and professional sport in general) is a big part of propaganda in Russia and Putler may decide to "keep them" in Russia

The Devils prospect Mukhamadullin got a visa and is coming over to take part in the AHL playoffs now. So no?

 

[McSuper]

More interesting would be to think of the amount of Russians coming. think there would be a bunch of Russians trying to escape even to play Ahl due to sanctions and overall craziness there atm.

Putin being the ass he is may not let them leave the country .

 

[Neiler]

I'm still waiting for Oscar Moller to come back. Starting to lose hope.

 

[Jersey Fan 12]

True about Metsola. He has similar potential as Säteri and Olkinuora, but thread turned into a Finnish players only thread sadly, which wasn't the intention lol.

Looks like Olkinuora is headed to Switzerland but was just curious about his potential to play in the NHL.

His KHL numbers were impressive before he left Metallurg but KHL veteran Vasily Kosechkin had similar numbers in leading the club to the Gagarin Cup finals.

 

[Mogo]

Saw topic name. First thought. Must be some finn. Was not dissapointed

You should listed all there ages too. Most of them 30+

Manninen #1 center in NHL....

I'm surprised Marko Anttila wasn't listed

You need to take off those blue and white glasses

 

[Mogo]

Was Hartikainen that Finnish prospect that had an insane clapper but nothing else?

Teemu Pulkkinen

 

[Mestaruus]

Looks like Olkinuora is headed to Switzerland but was just curious about his potential to play in the NHL.

His KHL numbers were impressive before he left Metallurg but KHL veteran Vasily Kosechkin had similar numbers in leading the club to the Gagarin Cup finals.

I have no doubt that he's better than some current NHL goalies, so it would be nice to see some team in need of a starter giving him a chance. I don't know if he's got any kind of NHL clause in his current contract.

 

[Deep Blue Metallic]

most of these guys would have played in the NHL already if they were good enough to play in the NHL

Nothing more needs to be said, unless you really believe a (non-Russian) professional hockey player would spurn the NHL for the KHL. I don't.

 

[Mestaruus]

Saw topic name. First thought. Must be some finn. Was not dissapointed

Why would you assume that based on just the topic name huh. Based on that I assume that you think that KHL was full of good Finns last season which is true. Many of the very best players in that league were Finns.

I created the topic after the Olympics. Right now I think that Sakari Manninen should be a top-6 center in the NHL. He plays tougher than his size suggests. I see him tackling players. He isn't scared of playing physical, but by no means that's not what he should be focusing on. Manninen's agent said that they will only accept a one way contract. There's no risk giving a one way contract. In NHL standards the cap hit isn't big and they can always send him down via waivers. At that point he would probably go to Europe though.

Teemu Hartikainen is another player that is too good for any league in Europe, but is his skating speed enough for NHL. I don't know. He's a very interesting case. He said in an interview himself that this might be his last chance to go there.

I'm disappointed that Hannes Björninen doesn't seem to have higher ambitions and he signed in the SHL. I'm unsure if he can exit that contract.

Sami Vatanen signed a contract in the Swiss league but it wouldn't surprise me if he exits that contract and goes back to NHL.

I don't think that the age around 30 years is a reason not to take players who are way too good to play in European leagues when KHL isn't an option.

Right now the likeliest to go to NHL is Manninen and it's interesting to see if Säteri continues in the NHL. His last game was sort of like a shutout of 53 TOI after he substituted an injured goalie. It's good to leave the season like that, especially when you don't have a contract. He was an Olympic gold starter goalie on top of that.

Another name from the Finland's WHC gold team that was talked a lot in the Finnish media about going to overseas with a two way contract is Mikael Seppälä.

Mikael Seppälä - Stats, Contract, Salary & More

Eliteprospects.com hockey player profile of Mikael Seppälä, 1994-03-08 Ylivieska, FIN Finland. Most recently in the undefined with HV71. Complete player biography and stats.

www.eliteprospects.com

 

[Mestaruus]

Nothing more needs to be said, unless you really believe a (non-Russian) professional hockey player would spurn the NHL for the KHL. I don't.

I don't know about that. Players like Hartikainen and Manninen would've spent the rest of their careers in the KHL if Putin didn't start a war with Ukraine. They didn't have any reason to leave that league with their 1+ million Euro and basically taxless salaries.

These players are too good for other European leagues so what will they do now? Will they take a pay cut and play in Europe or do they have higher ambitions? There's no huge risk for the NHL teams nor the players. Their cap hits would be low so that's low risk for the teams. These players both most likely want only one way contracts and if waived, I see them going back to Europe.

 

[Jersey Fan 12]

I don't know about that. Players like Hartikainen and Manninen would've spent the rest of their careers in the KHL if Putin didn't start a war with Ukraine. They didn't have any reason to leave that league with their 1+ million Euro and basically taxless salaries.

These players are too good for other European leagues so what will they do now? Will they take a pay cut and play in Europe or do they have higher ambitions? There's no huge risk for the NHL teams nor the players. Their cap hits would be low so that's low risk for the teams. These players both most likely want only one way contracts and if waived, I see them going back to Europe.

While things may change over the summer when NHL clubs reassess their rosters and needs, to this point it looks like the other European leagues - particularly Switzerland, Sweden and to a lesser extent Czechia, have seen an influx of KHL talent.

Economically, Finland's Liiga is not on par with those leagues though some native Finns may head there for the opportunity to play "at home ".

 

[Mogo]

Why would you assume that based on just the topic name huh. Based on that I assume that you think that KHL was full of good Finns last season which is true. Many of the very best players in that league were Finns.

I created the topic after the Olympics. Right now I think that Sakari Manninen should be a top-6 center in the NHL. He plays tougher than his size suggests. I see him tackling players. He isn't scared of playing physical, but by no means that's not what he should be focusing on. Manninen's agent said that they will only accept a one way contract. There's no risk giving a one way contract. In NHL standards the cap hit isn't big and they can always send him down via waivers. At that point he would probably go to Europe though.

Teemu Hartikainen is another player that is too good for any league in Europe, but is his skating speed enough for NHL. I don't know. He's a very interesting case. He said in an interview himself that this might be his last chance to go there.

I'm disappointed that Hannes Björninen doesn't seem to have higher ambitions and he signed in the SHL. I'm unsure if he can exit that contract.

Sami Vatanen signed a contract in the Swiss league but it wouldn't surprise me if he exits that contract and goes back to NHL.

I don't think that the age around 30 years is a reason not to take players who are way too good to play in European leagues when KHL isn't an option.

Right now the likeliest to go to NHL is Manninen and it's interesting to see if Säteri continues in the NHL. His last game was sort of like a shutout of 53 TOI after he substituted an injured goalie. It's good to leave the season like that, especially when you don't have a contract. He was an Olympic gold starter goalie on top of that.

Another name from the Finland's WHC gold team that was talked a lot in the Finnish media about going to overseas with a two way contract is Mikael Seppälä.

Mikael Seppälä - Stats, Contract, Salary & More

Eliteprospects.com hockey player profile of Mikael Seppälä, 1994-03-08 Ylivieska, FIN Finland. Most recently in the undefined with HV71. Complete player biography and stats.

www.eliteprospects.com

Most of those guys had there chance in NHL already. There’s a reason not long ago Vatanen was on waivers and nobody picked him up.

 

[Jersey Fan 12]

I have no doubt that he's better than some current NHL goalies, so it would be nice to see some team in need of a starter giving him a chance. I don't know if he's got any kind of NHL clause in his current contract.

A package deal of him and Jalonen to New Jersey would be interesting.

Couldn't be worse than the last three years.

 

[McSuper]

Magnus Hellberg isn't very good . I don't see a team signing him unless it is the AHL/3 string goalie but than again Holland may sign him for 8 years at 6.5 M to be our #1 . Can't expect him to play for free .

 

[Mestaruus]

While things may change over the summer when NHL clubs reassess their rosters and needs, to this point it looks like the other European leagues - particularly Switzerland, Sweden and to a lesser extent Czechia, have seen an influx of KHL talent.

Economically, Finland's Liiga is not on par with those leagues though some native Finns may head there for the opportunity to play "at home ".

Yeah I know that many are going to NLA or SHL but these guys like Manninen and Hartikainen would be the cream of the crop in those leagues. They would be superstars in those leagues. I don't know how much NLA and SHL are paying to the very best players right now, but if they can give Manninen and/or Hartikainen 500k-750k, that could do it. Switzerland is a good place to live and players take some cuts for that, plus traveling to games is very easy and not time consuming in that country.

 

[Mestaruus]

Most of those guys had there chance in NHL already. There’s a reason not long ago Vatanen was on waivers and nobody picked him up.

They didn't pick him up because they didn't want to take the 2 million cap hit at that point. He played just 30 games in his last NHL season so he probably had some covid things or injuries. So the teams that could've picked him up via waivers didn't want an injured guy or a guy with covid. We must remember that at that point we didn't even know what covid really fully does. If the effects of it are long term, as in ruining the players' rest of the season if a player catches that disease.

Vatanen played his last season in the NHL with New Jersey Devils in the season 2020-2021. His cap hit and salary was 2 million, because it was the start of covid year when he signed that contract, so many players had to take paycuts because of covid season and it was also harder to find long contracts because of all the uncertainty around covid. After the season 2021-2021 with New Jersey he didn't want to take NHL league minimum salary so he just headed over to Swiss league for less money but good living conditions, with less pressure and less traveling. Now Vatanen has alreydy signed a contract in the Swiss League, but there might be an exit clause in his contract and he might be still checking if NHL teams want to give him an offer.

I'm not saying that Vatanen could be anything big in the NHL anymore but he could play in the NHL if he wanted to. Same goes to Valtteri Filppula as some kind of bottom line low costing NHL center, but Filppula isn't going back to NHL.

 

[Mestaruus]

A package deal of him and Jalonen to New Jersey would be interesting.

Couldn't be worse than the last three years.

I'd love to see Jalonen have a chance over there in the NHL, even if it would result in a failure. Jalonen is more proven as a tournament coach than club coach thoguh. Although in Jalonen's defense I'll say that big part of his career has been with Finland's national teams so he hasn't had many chances to prove his form as a club head coach as of late. Years ago he got fired from his KHL SKA St. Petersburg job but KHL is weird and I wouldn't make big conclusions about that. Jalonen would perhaps need longer time to adjust than they were willing to give him in the KHL. In KHL the coaches get fired really fast.

 

[Jersey Fan 12]

They didn't pick him up because they didn't want to take the 2 million cap hit at that point. He played just 30 games in his last NHL season so he probably had some covid things or injuries. So the teams that could've picked him up via waivers didn't want an injured guy or a guy with covid. We must remember that at that point we didn't even know what covid really fully does. If the effects of it are long term, as in ruining the players' rest of the season if a player catches that disease.

Vatanen played his last season in the NHL with New Jersey Devils in the season 2020-2021. His cap hit and salary was 2 million, because it was the start of covid year when he signed that contract, so many players had to take paycuts because of covid season and it was also harder to find long contracts because of all the uncertainty around covid. After the season 2021-2021 with New Jersey he didn't want to take NHL league minimum salary so he just headed over to Swiss league for less money but good living conditions, with less pressure and less traveling. Now Vatanen has alreydy signed a contract in the Swiss League, but there might be an exit clause in his contract and he might be still checking if NHL teams want to give him an offer.

I'm not saying that Vatanen could be anything big in the NHL anymore but he could play in the NHL if he wanted to. Same goes to Valtteri Filppula as some kind of bottom line low costing NHL center, but Filppula isn't going back to NHL.

Wondered the same about Erkka Westerlund when John Tortorella left Columbus. Thought that be the opportunity for Jarmo to higher a coach from Finland. Think Erkka would also make a great university coach if he chose that option.

 

[Mestaruus]

Wondered the same about Erkka Westerlund when John Tortorella left Columbus. Thought that be the opportunity for Jarmo to higher a coach from Finland. Think Erkka would also make a great university coach if he chose that option.

The problem is that Jarmo doesn't do favors to Finnish players and it's probably the same on hockey personnel such as coaches. Him hiring some Finnish people could put a target on his back as a GM if those Finnish people would turn out as bad signings and could lead to Kekalainen being fired. Jarmo Kekalainen doesn't seem to play with those kind of things. Maybe he will gamble with that later when he's older and feels like risking his job isn't such a big deal to him anymore.

They call Erkka Westerlund as hockey professor here in Finland for a reason. He's had a huge impact on Finnish ice hockey and especially on the international ice hockey success of Finland.

My understanding is that one reason that NHL teams might be questioning Jukka Jalonen as a potential NHL head coach is his English communication skill. He's good at speaking English but is he good enough in the minds of NHL teams' general managers I wonder. If he isn't something like 99% fluent at that at all times it could translate into players feeling that to be like some kind of lack of locker room charisma, which I find to be an important attribute on coaches, because that will make players listen to the coach more and doing what the coach says more and better. When Jalonen coaches team Finland by using Finnish language, he's certainly not lacking any locker room charisma. I think that Erkka Westerlund and maybe any other potential European coaches used to be in similar situation with that.

 

[mattihp]

I love Björninen to death, but versatile is not the wprd I'd use. Obsessed with winning and defensively smart.

Lehtonen won't give the NHL another shot. It will be the NHL's loss. He came to Toronto when EVERY other D signing worked out. Then shipped to Columbus who somehow were content with what they had. Outshone most NHL defensemen not named Dahlin(that was close) or Heiskanen in the champs. Steady defenseman who calms down situations and the defensive side is not even close to being his best side of the game..

When the second best league in the world option disappears I think that many players won't give up as easily as before on their NHL dream and some more players compared to before are willing to take the AHL path to get to NHL if that is required. We'll see more competition than before about the roster spots in the top leagues including NHL next season. It will be interesting.

The AHL will likely have almost as many finns as swedes in a couple of years.

 

[Mestaruus]

Lehtonen won't give the NHL another shot. It will be the NHL's loss. He came to Toronto when EVERY other D signing worked out. Then shipped to Columbus who somehow were content with what they had. Outshone most NHL defensemen not named Dahlin(that was close) or Heiskanen in the champs.

It might indeed be that Lehtonen won't go back to NHL in a while, because he seems to prioritize getting ice time. He really didn't seem to enjoy getting free pay while not getting too much ice time with Columbus. I can't remember if he was ever waived by Columbus or not, maybe he wasn't. I've seen some players who just take the one way contract salary, while not getting to play much and they won't complain about that. Lehtonen doesn't seem to be like one of those guys.

Lehtonen was in the all-star line up in both The Olympics without NHLers and in the 2022 World Hockey Championships. That's pretty impressive. The Olympics were played on small ice and the WHC 2022 tournament was played on "hybrid size ice" I believe.

Does anyone know how much exactly are the very best players of NLA = Switzerland & SHL = Sweden getting paid in the upcoming season or in the last season? In Liiga = Finland I remember the number being around 300k euros for some of the best paid players not too long ago. Have to keep in mind that Finland's taxes are heavy as well.

 

[Jersey Fan 12]

At 34 he's probably past the stage of being an NHL "prospect" but it's a bit surprising that SKA's Joonas Kemppainen is back in Finland.

 

[Voodoozz]