The current offseason in the KHL is one of the most surprising and unusual in recent years. Everyone is talking about it, including agents, coaches and hockey players themselves. It is hard to remember when there were so many unemployed big-name players on the free agent market at the end of July.
Judge for yourself: Prokhorkin, Pashnin, Soshnikov, Burmistrov, Lukoyanov, Kiselevich, Makeev, Antipin, Chudinov, Telegin, Timkin, Galiev, Shumakov, Yakupov are still unemployed. The day before, Burdasov was left without a club and was asked to leave Traktor. And we do not take into account Dynamo goalkeeper Konovalov, Ak Bars defender Voynov, Salavat striker Shmelev and SKA striker Galimov, who are still under contract, but all four are trying to find new options. There are other, less stellar players whose agents continue to look for new teams for the guys.
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Of course, there are also Evgeny Kuznetsov, Nikita Gusev and Alexander Barabanov, but all three will be signed in the near future without any problems. There is Ilya Kovalchuk, but I think we will see him in one of the administrative positions at Spartak.
What are the main reasons for such a saturated and unrestricted free agent market and difficult negotiations between players’ parties and club representatives? There are several reasons, in fact.
— We added two foreign players of unknown quality, multiplied them by the number of teams. That’s 46 people. Even though not all clubs took advantage, there will still be about 30 people. That’s the whole answer. The main reason is the return to the limit of foreign players of five people. Moreover, up to the limit, when teams choose whoever they want and then they will think about quality, says a well-known agent. Shumi Babaev.
—Does a strict salary cap have any effect? — No, we are used to working with a strict salary cap. I don’t see a big problem. In the end, we will find work for all the guys. It’s just that once the players took advantage of the fact that the amounts were above the limit, now the clubs have that situation and lower the prices. That’s the market, it’s quite normal, we will work. Let’s see where the foreign players who are allowed to play in the KHL end up. I want to point out that I am not against foreigners, I am in favor of quality players. The best ones who will really strengthen the league. There is no need to bring anyone here that you don’t know. With the five foreign players there is no problem, the problem is their quality.
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The return to the limit of five foreign players is actually one of the key reasons. Yes, we can and should talk about competition, but we need to bring really strong foreigners into the league who will stimulate the progress of our youth. Why, for example, did they invite goalkeeper Miska to Dynamo Moscow and why is he better than Konovalov or Motorygin? It would be better if they tried to bring Zherenko from abroad.
Or, for example, what do you know about the newcomer from Neftekhimik, the defender Profak? What can he teach the wonderful young Russians from Reaktor, who need to be brought into the main team? Yes, in Nizhnekamsk they could and would have liked to see an experienced player in this position, but in this case, this foreigner would definitely take the place of Kiselevich or Chudinov.
If we talk about adjusting the salary cap, this also has a certain impact on the current situation, but it is definitely not the main factor. What impact? For example, many well-known hockey players are used to playing for a lot of money, but they do not want to accept a significant pay cut.
In addition, we see that Andrei Razin’s bet on youth at Metallurg has worked, so the fashion for cheap Russians hungry for victories in the league is becoming stronger. Why pay so much for older and experienced players when it turns out that you can fill the squad with more than just them? And, most importantly, achieve results.
Metalúrgicos hockey players with Razin’s coaching staff in the playoffs
Photo: Alexander Safonov, “Championship”
— I think it’s a combination of several factors. Of course, the timing of increasing the number of foreign players from three to five played a role. From the point of view of the strict salary cap, I can say that the existing cap is perceived by the entire agency world as a current reality. “We have regulations and we rely on them,” another senior representative of the agency business told me. Yuri Nikolaev.
— What is your attitude to the increase in the limit?— As for the quality of foreign players, this is all within the understanding of the clubs. From my point of view, sometimes there are doubts about the price-quality ratio of invited foreigners. I think that Russian players, who are not in demand now, but I hope they will be for a short time, are not inferior in price and quality to many foreign players in the KHL.
