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The tug-of-war over Nikita Filatov's services officially started Thursday morning, when the Columbus Blue Jackets signed him to a standard, NHL entry-level contract, which for the 2008 draft year, means a salary of $875,000 (U.S.) plus bonuses that could potentially triple his compensation.
The 18-year-old Filatov was the sixth overall choice in the entry draft, held last month in Ottawa. What makes the signing so intriguing is that just one day earlier, the president of Russia's new Continental Hockey League, Alexander Medvedev, as well as Filatov's former team, CSKA, both asserted their right to compensation for his playing rights.
According to a report in the daily Sovietsky Sport, Medvedev said the Blue Jackets owed half-a-million in compensation, even though Filatov's contract with CSKA (the heralded Central Red Army team) had expired.
The matter could end up headed to court, if the Russian team persists in its demands.
According to Blue Jackets' general manager Scott Howson, the team expects Filatov to attend training camp in September, and will be given a chance to make the team as an 18-year-old. Failing that, Filatov could also be assigned to junior (the Sudbury Wolves own his rights) or the Blue Jackets' American Hockey League affiliate, the Syracuse Crunch, for additional development.
In a statement, Howson said he was "very pleased that Nikita has made a strong commitment to play in North America as soon as possible. He is a dynamic, talented player with outstanding offensive instincts. We look forward to seeing him in training camp this fall."
Currently, the NHL does not have a transfer agreement with the International Ice Hockey Federation, but both sides have stated publicly that it is everyone's best interests to respect signed contracts. The strength of Columbus's position is that even CSKA, in a statement circulated Wednesday, said: "With specific regard to Filatov, he was dismissed from CSKA, but the club continues to own the rights to the sports activities of the specified player under laws relating to the activities of the professional athlete in the Russian Federation."
Whatever that means …
In an e-mail statement, NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly said he was convinced that Columbus had a strong legal position: "We're confident both Filatov and Columbus followed all the rules and that the signing of the player was both legal and appropriate."
Filatov was one of two Russian players selected in the first round of the entry draft last month (the other: Viktor Tikhonov, by the Phoenix Coyotes), both of whom were blunt about their wish to play in the NHL, as opposed to the Russian Continental League. Filatov is considered the brightest young star to emerge in Russia during the past two years, which is why Columbus was willing to gamble such a high pick on his rights. The year before, the highest-ranked Russian, Alexei Cherepanov, fell to 17th overall, going to the New York Rangers, partly because of the murky relationship between the NHL and Russia at the moment, partly because he was thought to have less of an upside than Filatov, who scored at almost a two-points-per game clip (32 goals and 34 assists in 34 games) with CSKA of the Russian Junior League during the 2007-08 season.
He also saw action in five games with CSKA's Russian Elite League team and represented Russia at the 2008 World Junior Championships, where h had nine points in seven games to help Russia win a bronze medal. Russia's captain, he led the team in assists, points and plus/minus rating.
Filatov's desire to move to North America is part of a curious cross-migration that heated up this summer, after the Continental League replaced Russia's former Superleague. A handful of NHL players, most of them unable to secure contracts in North America, are trying their hands at Russia. Most recently, former Ottawa Senators' goaltender Ray Emery signed with a team, Mytishchi, in a Moscow suburb. Last Friday, the Continental League also secured the services of Jaromir Jagr, the Czech-born five-time NHL scoring champion and by far its biggest name thus far.
However, they also struck out again on Wednesday, with another Russian star who might have gone home, when the Washington Capitals signed Sergei Fedorov to a one-year, $4 million. Fedorov had received numerous offers to go to Russia, but elected to play for the Capitals, who also boast the best young Russian in the world, reigning NHL scoring champion Alexander Ovechkin.
Filatov, who is from Moscow, also recorded nine points (and 29 penalty minutes) in six games during the 2008 World Under-18 Championships as Russia took the silver medal. He was named to the tournament's All-Star Team as he led his team in assists and points. In the 2007 World Under-18 Championships, he tallied 4-5-9 with six penalty minutes and was +4 in seven games to help Russia claim the gold medal.
As IIHF meetings in Zurich concluded Thursday, federations and leagues from Belarus, Czech Republic, Finland, Germany, Russia, Slovakia, Sweden and Switzerland, agreed to mutually respect the players' contractual obligations during the current situation where the IIHF and the NHL are without a Player Transfer Agreement.
In an effort to resolve that issue, the IIHF struck a joint working group was established with a mandate to draft a document that will specify the terms of such an agreement, including the handling of possible disagreements regarding the validity of contracts.
The joint working group is scheduled to meet in early September to see if there is any common ground for a possible new long-term Player Transfer Agreement and with an objective to establish a framework for a future international agenda for both national team competition (Olympics, World Championships and World Cup of Hockey) as well as international club competition (Victoria Cup).
