Faceoff Factor

Reverse Defections: One's an Accident, Is Two a Trend?

Michael Farkas | National Hockey League

Aug 21, 10:13 PM | Hype this story!

In light of the recent “reverse defections” we have seen this offseason, I decided to talk to someone from within, so to speak. I had a great opportunity to chat with a very knowledgeable writer from the Russian Hockey Digest, Yura Zyuzin, about some of the more pressing issues that surround Russian Super League and National Hockey League relations. In addition to the present issues, he also hints at what the future could bring for the NHL, RSL and their respective fans.

One of the bigger issues in all this is money, of course. With the NHL salary cap in place and the limits on entry-level contracts combined with the financial growth of the Russian Super League that we could see more and more Russians, and Europeans as a whole, never even attempting to come to North America to continue their hockey careers.

“The combined effect of players choosing to remain career RSLers and others returning home after only brief stints in North America is being supplemented by far fewer Russians being drafted…will likely result in the NHL being left with only the cream of the Russian crop,” Zyuzin said.

The salary cap does not necessarily prevent big contracts from being dulled out to the star players, but it can hurt the middle tier of players who are now forced to make a reduced amount of money because most of the team’s money is tied up in its stars. As a result, we are seeing low and middle-tier NHLers going to Europe to continue their careers and Europeans returning home to do the same.

“Recurring complaints from both prospects and mid-level players who have returned to the RSL include NHL teams making numerous unfulfilled promises, [players] receiving a lesser role than they felt they deserved and some NHL teams tending to discriminate against their Russian players,” Zyuzin said.

Generally, a bigger role and a bigger paycheck is what awaits Russians when they come back to the Super League. Zyuzin tells me that former Senators forward Oleg Saprykin is playing on the second line for CSKA this preseason, a far greater role than he could have expected in Ottawa. Contrarily, recently-departed Blue Jacket forward Alexander Svitov remains as a checking line center for Avangard Omsk, a role that he would have likely had in the NHL as well.

However, some players choose to stay in North America despite promises of a bigger paycheck in Russia. Some Russian NHLers have any number of obligations to their newly created family, their children’s schooling, business ventures or, simply, adjusting favorably to the North American lifestyle.

A player like Sergei Fedorov, for instance, says he “needs at least a week to adapt and start feeling at home” when he returns to Russia. Zyuzin cautions, however, that Fedorov left a very different Russia way back in the early 1990’s. While still others, like Capitals forward Viktor Kozlov, have turned down far more lucrative offers from RSL teams in favor of the higher level competition found in the NHL.

However, Zyuzin explicitly points out that these signings are not made out of revenge after the controversial signings of Alexander Semin, Evgeni Malkin, Alexander Ovechkin and others.

“RSL teams seek to stay competitive and/or gain an edge over other RSL teams with their offseason acquisitions. Revenge is not much of a [contributing] factor at all.”

Zyuzin goes on to say that the Super League doesn’t concern itself so much with the rest of the world’s leagues; it is looking, primarily, to strengthen itself and its member clubs. The RSL is not oblivious to the NHL and would like to compete on the world stage with the NHL’s popularity, but that’s not its first priority.

Vladislav Tretiak, head of Russian Ice Hockey Federation, is more focused on developing the national teams at this time. The RSL, according to Zyuzin, has no intentions of reducing the limit on the number of “foreigners” that can play for RSL clubs.

“The RSL is moving in the complete opposite direction by raising fees on foreign players and restricting foreign goaltenders altogether in order to develop Russian players,” Zyuzin said.

Russian players that departed midseason last year, such as Alexei Mikhonov, Enver Lisin, Alexei Kaigorodov and others, did so because of their unwillingness to play in the AHL. This desire to leave stems from “…the financial aspect and the stigma attached to it (the AHL) and homesickness.”

Many Russian players will remain in their homeland until they are promised NHL minutes. Others, such as Alexander Radulov and Valeri Bur, come over to play junior hockey and work their way through the minor league system. Those players often are looked at in a higher regard by NHL organizations because it shows a willingness and strong desire to play in the NHL at any cost.

Zyuzin notes that young, developing Russian players do not necessarily dream of winning the Stanley Cup and that most would prefer an Olympic Gold Medal for their country instead. The Stanley Cup aspirations are generally only acquired after a few NHL seasons.

Probably the most shocking thing that Mr. Zyuzin shared with me was that, “the top RSL teams could realistically attain payrolls equaling or even exceeding those of NHL teams.” He goes on to say, however, that the mid-tier and lower-level Super League teams would have trouble competing with NHL teams because the RSL depends mostly on corporate sponsorship and less on ticket sales and television contracts.

The aforementioned could certainly have an interesting impact on NHL teams that employ Russians as well as Russians that are looking to try their hand at future NHL drafts. With still no transfer agreement in place between the National Hockey League and Russian Super League, pretty much anything goes.