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OTTAWA — Russia's new Continental Hockey League clearly has money to spend. The problem is finding someone to take it.
More precisely, finding the right someone to take it.
The Pittsburgh Penguins' Evgeni Malkin isn't the only high-profile Russian who wants to stay and play in the NHL, even if it means leaving a lot of cash on the table. That became clear again last weekend at the NHL entry draft when the two Russian players chosen in the first round – Nikita Filatov, by the Columbus Blue Jackets, and Viktor Tikhonov, by the Phoenix Coyotes – were both adamant that their first choice was to play in the NHL, not in Russia.
Thus far, the Russian league's attempts to land a marquee player have fallen mostly on deaf ears. Malkin, who bolted under cover of darkness from Russia two years ago to play in the NHL, stands to earn anywhere from $50-million to $100-million (all currency U.S.) on an extended contract if he were to return as the Russian league's marquee player. Last week, his agent, J.P. Barry, indicated that the Penguins could give Malkin a contract extension by early July.
Last season, Alexander Ovechkin, the NHL's reigning scoring champion and most valuable player, signed what amounts to a lifetime contract with the Washington Capitals. The Detroit Red Wings' Pavel Datsyuk, last season's winner of the Frank J. Selke Trophy (top defensive forward) and Lady Byng Memorial Trophy (most gentlemanly player), is just two years into a seven-year deal.
Avangard Omsk, the Russian superpower owned by Roman Abramovich, has been aggressively courting the New York Rangers' Czech-born Jaromir Jagr. If contract talks with the Rangers – now stuck on both dollars and term – don't get back on the rails soon after July 1, Jagr may be the Continental league's best bet to land a big-name gate attraction, at least for its inaugural season as a 24-team loop.
“I think that league is going to be good for the fringe player or the really good minor-leaguer and give them an opportunity to go and make some money,” said Red Wings general manager Ken Holland, who persuaded Datsyuk to return to the NHL after the lockout, even though two teams in Russia were bidding for him.
“Anybody with any competitive juices wants to play with and against the best players in the world, in the best league in the world,” Holland added. “And it's an established league. These other leagues, maybe 10 years from now, after they've got their footing, it may be different.
“But right now, this is the best league in the world. Why wouldn't you want to be involved in the best league in the world?”
Don Maloney, the Coyotes' general manager, used the 28th overall pick to take Tikhonov, the grandson of the former Soviet national team coach. Maloney said the fact that the younger Tikhonov was born and raised in the United States factored into their decision to draft him and made him less of a gamble.
“We see him as a California kid playing in Russia [Cherepovets of the Russian Superleague last year], not a Russian who we're trying to bring over to North America,” Maloney said.
“We loved Filatov,” Maloney added. “My worry was not now – he wants to play here, he's a good player, he speaks English. My worry is three years from now. When you hear the numbers they're talking about with Malkin, we worry that after three years in the league, if someone like him becomes a star, how are we going to keep him?
“That was a real concern for us. As a franchise, can we afford that versus the alternative – to pay another good player where we don't have that [threat of him leaving]?”
Scott Howson, the Blue Jackets' general manager, who selected Filatov sixth overall, conceded the new Russian league “is a threat for sure. They're going to take players and obviously they're going to put pressure on good Russian players. But we went through a pretty thorough process with Nikita. We tested him many ways and went back and talked to people, and his story has been consistent. He wants to play here.
“It's a leap of faith for us, but we believe in him, we trust him and we think he does honestly want to play here.”
Even at the cost of the sixth overall pick in a deep entry draft, Filatov was worth the risk?
“He was for us,” Howson said.
