We continue our traditional column on the main transfer rumors in the KHL. In the off-season, the topic of transfers, exchanges and signing new contracts is always the hottest. There are still quite a few new developments, as before, and there are still many free agents on the market. There are still many discussions around Evgeny Kuznetsov and Alexander Barabanov, and Dynamo Moscow is still waiting for Nikita Gusev even after the arrival of Max Comtois.
Is it possible that Kuznetsov will not end up at SKA?
Theoretically, yes, practically – 99.9% no, unless some incredible force majeure happens. In his native “Traktor” they are ready to make an excellent offer to Evgeniy, there were rumors about the interest of “Ak Bars”, but now the former Carolina forward is moving to St. Petersburg. How he will be included in the army payroll is another question, but for the KHL, Kuznetsov’s arrival is a huge boost: both in terms of image and skills. The league is now lacking stars of this caliber. Therefore, we should soon expect official news about another high-profile transfer from Roman Rotenberg’s team. Verbal agreements have long been reached, it only remains to document everything.
Reaction from abroad:
“It’s not what we really expected.” The US reaction to the situation with Kuznetsov.
Affairs of Moscow “Dynamo”
Dynamo Moscow’s sporting director Alexey Sopin continues to work actively. Unusually, the club announced the signing of new American goalkeeper Hunter Miska, posting on social networks the unusual design of the future newcomer’s helmet. By the way, Canadian goalkeeper Matt Tomkins has long been on the short list of KHL teams, including Dynamo, but his arrival has been postponed again.
As for Nikita Gusev, the information that the forward will return to Russia only in November-December is not true. Nothing has changed in this matter: the hockey player is waiting for offers from the NHL, but if they are missing before the start of the KHL regular season, he will sign a contract with the blue-and-whites. The outcome of the situation with Nikita should come soon, as the Dynamo coaching staff wants to see Gusev in his team’s location from the start of the pre-season, which begins on August 1 in Minsk.
What will happen to Ilya Konovalov, you rightly ask? He was given a qualifying offer, which the goalkeeper did not accept. He is currently a restricted free agent, which makes his exchange difficult. At the beginning of the offseason, the Admiral showed interest in the goalkeeper, but the player opposed the move to Vladivostok. In the summer there was information about a possible exchange of the goalkeeper to Dynamo Minsk, but now the two clubs could not agree on the amount of compensation, after which the negotiations stalled. Now Konovalov has very few options left on the market, and the player himself has recently become increasingly inclined to think about changing his attitude to his move to Vladivostok.
Ilya Konovalov
Photo: Alexander Safonov, “Championship”
Is Barabanov definitely in Ak Bars?
Here, as in the case of Kuznetsov, everything is 99.9% settled. If Kuznetsov goes to SKA, Barabanov is very likely to sign a deal with Ak Bars. At the same time, let’s not forget that the Kazan team needs to “waste” the contracts of Voynov, Evgeny Svechnikov (who wants to return to the United States) and Riley Barber, as our publication previously reported. The club’s general director Marat Valiullin has a lot of work to do. But there is no doubt that Barabanov, like Kuznetsov, will not remain in the United States, but will return to Russia. The time has come.
Labate will not be in Metallurg
Magnitogorsk was already actively pursuing American Barys striker Joseph Labate last season. At the same time, Astana was ready to consider the offer, and now signing an American free agent for Andrei Razin’s team is generally easier than ever. However, according to my information, Labate will definitely not be in Magnitogorsk. The main acquisition of the Urals was the signing of a contract with former Vityaz striker Scott Wilson. This is the end of their transfer campaign.
All about transfers to the KHL:
SKA and CSKA are ready to blow up the free agent market! KHL transfer table
Henkel and Minsk are in trouble
What are they? Let us explain. The Belarusian player was offered to sign a new contract with a reduction and a long term, but he does not accept. Henkel ended up in Dynamo Minsk after an exchange with Barys, but before that, as we remember, Christian played in Kazan, where he received a good amount of money. It is logical that Henkel wants to get what is due to him and Minsk is trying to reduce that salary. This is a pure market and negotiation; there is no right or wrong here. The hockey player must receive what is due to him according to the documents. You do not want to? Solve the problem and come to an agreement.
