Post by Jazz on May 13, 2004 1:34:45 GMT -5
Here is an article from USATODAY.COM
link: www.usatoday.com/sports/hockey/columnist/woodlief/2004-04-22-woodlief_x.htm
Russian revolution afoot?
By Kyle Woodlief, Special to USATODAY.com
It's still in the whisper stage and hasn¹t yet reached a dull roar, but here's one more issue worth watching for its potential impact on the draft: the NHL's agreement with the IIHF regarding transfer fees for Europeans is about to expire, and Russia is looking to break away from the rest of the Euro nations and essentially do its own deal.
The IIHF, which has been empowered to negotiate for all European countries in the past, is none too happy, but the Russian Federation seems intent upon practicing its own new brand of separatism. And it's already leading to some tough talk from NHL negotiators, who are not interested in signing any new transfer agreement that doesn't include the Russians.
It's all about cost certainty (where have we heard that phrase before in NHL negotiations?) for the NHL, and for the Russians it's all about extracting coveted U.S. dollars that would no doubt line the pockets of federation and team officials (and certain, shall we say, unscrupulous profiteers who abound in Russia these days).
There are all sorts of wild rumors and speculation flying around regarding the type of money the Russians are looking for (some have pegged figures as high as $100,000 U.S. per first-round pick signed), but one thing is for sure — after the cloak-and-dagger intrigue surrounding getting high draft picks such as Stanislav Chistov and Alex Svitov out of the country a couple of years ago, and this year's debacle concerning Nikolai Zherdev, the NHL is fed up with the extortion and there's a feeling, just a vague sense that we could be on the verge of heading back to the Iron Curtain days when Russian players had to be smuggled out of hotel rooms in the dead of night and stowed away in car trunks.
Red Line doesn¹t know yet whether these developments will have any significant impact on the draft, but we wonder if it will seep into the consciousness and war room discussions of NHL personnel men when the final evaluations begin. And could it become another factor in the decision process on the pressure-packed draft floor?
Stay tuned in June.
link: www.usatoday.com/sports/hockey/columnist/woodlief/2004-04-22-woodlief_x.htm
Russian revolution afoot?
By Kyle Woodlief, Special to USATODAY.com
It's still in the whisper stage and hasn¹t yet reached a dull roar, but here's one more issue worth watching for its potential impact on the draft: the NHL's agreement with the IIHF regarding transfer fees for Europeans is about to expire, and Russia is looking to break away from the rest of the Euro nations and essentially do its own deal.
The IIHF, which has been empowered to negotiate for all European countries in the past, is none too happy, but the Russian Federation seems intent upon practicing its own new brand of separatism. And it's already leading to some tough talk from NHL negotiators, who are not interested in signing any new transfer agreement that doesn't include the Russians.
It's all about cost certainty (where have we heard that phrase before in NHL negotiations?) for the NHL, and for the Russians it's all about extracting coveted U.S. dollars that would no doubt line the pockets of federation and team officials (and certain, shall we say, unscrupulous profiteers who abound in Russia these days).
There are all sorts of wild rumors and speculation flying around regarding the type of money the Russians are looking for (some have pegged figures as high as $100,000 U.S. per first-round pick signed), but one thing is for sure — after the cloak-and-dagger intrigue surrounding getting high draft picks such as Stanislav Chistov and Alex Svitov out of the country a couple of years ago, and this year's debacle concerning Nikolai Zherdev, the NHL is fed up with the extortion and there's a feeling, just a vague sense that we could be on the verge of heading back to the Iron Curtain days when Russian players had to be smuggled out of hotel rooms in the dead of night and stowed away in car trunks.
Red Line doesn¹t know yet whether these developments will have any significant impact on the draft, but we wonder if it will seep into the consciousness and war room discussions of NHL personnel men when the final evaluations begin. And could it become another factor in the decision process on the pressure-packed draft floor?
Stay tuned in June.
