Evgeni Malkin

[jimbo2006]

For those who plan to be in hockey pools or interested in the ongoing Malkin drama, here's yet another interesting development as reported by TSN:

http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/news_story/?ID=174058&hubname=nhl

Although it might turn out to be a false alarm, but I can't help but think that something undercover is in the works to bring him over to Pittsburgh this year

 

[poonersdelight]

yeah i read about this too. can we spell d-e-f-e-c-t-i-o-n?! i mean, which russian *doesn't* want to come to north america to play. good looking women, a rampant following, no iron fists coming down on you...the list goes on!

 

[LittleAsianGuy]

Just curious what he was paid over in russia. I didnt know people can just pack up and defect from russia.

 

[LonelyGhost]

Just curious what he was paid over in russia. I didnt know people can just pack up and defect from russia.

its not really a 'defection' its more reneging on a contract ...

i think Pavel Bure was one of the first (?) to come over here
under similar circumstances ... he was under contract in Russia
and got picked up by the Canucks who worked out the kinks for him ...

or maybe i got that story wrong?

 

[JustAGuy]

I was at the exhibition game in Portland (or was it Seattle?) many years ago when Sergei Fedorov defected. He vanished after the game only to turn up a couple of days later in Detroit. But that was when Russia was still part of the Soviet Union and defecting was the only way players could get to play in North America. Since the breakup of the Soviet Union there has been a system of compensation in place for the Russian Ice Hockey Federation when Russian players leave there to play over here.

The parallel today is in baseball where the only means by which a Cuban player can get to play in North America is by defecting. At the 1999 Pan Am Games in Winnipeg the Cuban players were pretty closely guarded by Cuban security but a couple of them managed to defect nonetheless. I forget his name, but one of the defectors was a bench warmer on the Cuban team. I'm guessing he overestimated just how good second string Cuban players actually are vis-a-vis North American players. He didn't get any nibbles from major league teams and wound up playing in one of the independent leagues for a couple of years before giving up on his dream of making it to the major leagues. That said, most of the top Cuban players are major league calibre and if Havana were ever given an expansion franchise, they'd be able to field a pretty competitive team using nothing but home grown players.

 

[wolverine]

Here's something from the Hearsay section of Sportsnet:

August 05, 2006
Looking for a loophole

With no signed Russian player transfer agreement with the NHL this year, Alexei Mikhnov is hoping to use a Russian labour law to get out of his contract with Yaroslavl and join the Oilers in time for training camp.

Mikhnov was Edmonton's first-round pick in the 2000 NHL draft

"Mikhnov has already given his 14-day written notice to the Yaroslavl team that he wants to leave," agent Don Meehan told the Edmonton Journal, acknowledging the statute that allows employees to leave employers with little fuss. It has never been used by a hockey player.

Were the transfer agreement up and working, it would allow players with contracts to leave their teams for a set fee scale, about $200,000 for a top player.

If the Plan-B labour law avenue works for Mikhnov, who has a year left on his Yaroslavl contract, the Russian Hockey League will surely try to close the loophole next season. Another Meehan higher-profile client, Evgeny Malkin, has two years left with Magnitogorsk and wants to play in Pittsburgh.

The Oilers have to stay on the sidelines in regards to securing the talents of 23-year-old Mikhnov, whom they believe can crack their lineup this fall.

 

[jimbo2006]

Malkin's probably in Canada about now...

http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/news_story/?ID=174227&hubname=nhl

Any sightings??

 

[jimbo2006]

Might be jumping the gun, but I couldn't resist putting in the poll

 

[Gandalf]

Malkin - second line center

With Crosby on the first line, Malkin (who i believe is also a center) will get less than 20 minutes a game on the second line. Based on that, I don't think he'll put up the same numbers as 'the human highlight reel' or 'sid the kid'

 

[JustAGuy]

With Crosby on the first line, Malkin (who i believe is also a center) will get less than 20 minutes a game on the second line. Based on that, I don't think he'll put up the same numbers as 'the human highlight reel' or 'sid the kid'

If Pittsburgh's coach doesn't figure a way to get the two of them on the ice together for power plays, he'll be Pittsburgh's former coach before mid-season.