The Continental League has become more domestic – Newspaper Kommersant No. 160 (7361) of 09/01/2022
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The next championship of the Continental Hockey League (KHL) starts on Thursday. Before this season, there have been major changes in the compositions of many clubs, including those related to the political situation, which provoked a massive outflow of foreign players. Against the backdrop of a significant reduction in the market of available players, especially in Europe, most teams are understaffed by foreigners. The league has other problems, but that doesn’t mean the upcoming season will be lost. The struggle for the Gagarin Cup promises to be hot, and the main contenders for the trophy are CSKA, SKA, Metallurg, Avangard and, of course, Ak Bars, which has put together something similar to the Dream Team.
After two coronavirus seasons in the KHL, of course, an equally difficult championship awaits, which will take place under sanctions pressure. Many leading hockey countries have actually vetoed the performance of their players in the Russian league. In principle, their exodus from it began at the end of last season, and continued in the offseason. Now foreigners who still want to earn extra money in the KHL are threatened by their national hockey federations with reprisals and excommunication from the national team. For example, the Latvian striker Miks Indrashis had just signed a contract with Spartak, when he immediately came under such pressure at home that he was forced to hastily disavow the agreement.
As a result, now there is only one Finn left in the KHL – Teemu Pulkkinen from Traktor, and the Czechs and the Swedes can be counted on the fingers of one hand. Of course, the general flight of their compatriots hit the quality level of the league, but if you look at specific clubs, only Salavat Yulaev thoroughly sank without their European legionnaires. Well, the same “Tractor” also suffered, and in other teams the losses are pinpoint and not so critical. Noticeable losses include the departure of the Finnish Jokerit from the league, which nevertheless created competition in the Western Conference. But the absence of the Riga Dynamo, which has not threatened serious results for a long time, from a sports point of view, is unlikely to harm the KHL.
In general, the problem with legionnaires is gradually being solved thanks to the rather rich and still poorly mastered North American market by Russian scouts. Yes, while most clubs have not chosen a limit of five foreigners, but it is important that, in general, Canadians and Americans still view the KHL as a very attractive project from a sporting and financial point of view. And among them there are very interesting characters. So, Stanley Cup winners Cedric Paquette (2020 with Tampa Bay) and Scott Wilson (2017 with Pittsburgh) came to Dynamo Minsk and Vityaz. Forward Alexander Khmelevsky, who showed great promise in juniors and far from exhausted his potential, moved to Salavat, and, for example, Spartak lured Joey Keane from the American Hockey League, who became the best defender-scorer of its playoffs last season.
Although if we talk about transitions, then, of course, first of all, it is necessary to note the return to the KHL of Alexander Radulov. Although he is already 36 years old and his career in the National Hockey League is apparently over, it is still a name. If his health permits, Radulov will probably still be able to ignite in Ak Bars. Especially in a stellar company with such masters as Vadim Shipachev and Vyacheslav Voynov. In Kazan, they assembled a kind of Dream Team for the new season, which, moreover, will be led by the famous coach Oleg Znarok. Moreover, the most successful mentor in its history, Zinetula Bilyaletdinov, has also returned to the club as a consultant. A good characterization of the power of Kazan: according to the payroll published by Sport-Express, Danis Zaripov, the five-time winner of the Gagarin Cup, receives the least in the current Ak Bars.
Ak Bars looks like the main favorite of the season, but it does not follow from this that CSKA, SKA, Metallurg and Avangard will agree with such an assessment. Muscovites practically retained the championship team, with the exception of goalkeeper Ivan Fedotov, who wanted to go to the NHL, but unexpectedly thundered into the army. The Petersburgers did everything to compensate for their numerous holes in the squad, and returned to the KHL the same Dmitry Yashkin, who not so long ago shone in Dynamo Moscow. The Gagarin Cup finalist Metallurg has not become weaker either, and now he has a goalkeeper team, perhaps the best in the league. Avangard also looks powerful on paper, which, after a four-year forced stay in Balashikha near Moscow due to the repair of the Omsk arena, is also returning home. In principle, in the East, as always, a fierce battle for reaching the final is expected, given that the league has finally abandoned the idea of a cross play-off, while in the West, it seems that again there is no alternative to the CSKA-SKA semi-final series.
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