NHL vs. KHL - A Team Should Try This...

Well, I think if the Big 8 has a say in this, Russias international expansion of the RSL should be halted based on the crap they pulled in Georgia. I think all those European countries should be forced too pull out of whatever contract they agreed too, or face severe penalties from the U.N.

ramprat wrote:
Well, I think if the Big 8 has a say in this, Russias international expansion of the RSL should be halted based on the crap they pulled in Georgia. I think all those European countries should be forced too pull out of whatever contract they agreed too, or face severe penalties from the U.N.

The crap they pulled in Georgia? The entire world, apart from the US is reporting that Russia are the good guys in that situation, helping Ossetia from Georgian oppression.

I think that one of the dangers of expanding the NHL in Europe would be that it could create a flow of players between teams (ie NA players playing on europ. teams and vice versa). If the idea proves to be a flop , it could cost quite a few players moving to Europe and the start of a can of worms( buddies following buddies) . Scary stuff. I usually don't believe in fighting fire with fire but Dobber's idea rings better to my ears.

I like Dobber's plan to get their attention, and JHM's plan as the inevitable rapprochement.

Great thread!

sentium wrote:
ramprat wrote:
Well, I think if the Big 8 has a say in this, Russias international expansion of the RSL should be halted based on the crap they pulled in Georgia. I think all those European countries should be forced too pull out of whatever contract they agreed too, or face severe penalties from the U.N.

The crap they pulled in Georgia? The entire world, apart from the US is reporting that Russia are the good guys in that situation, helping Ossetia from Georgian oppression.
Oh how the US media can easily sway people's opinions. I mean, look at how many people thought going into Iraq was a good idea, due to the zounds of speculated WMDs to be found there.

I agree that it seems georgia is a bit of the bad guy, although Russia has also incredibly overreacted to the situation...a way to showcase that (A) they have power, and (B ) they're smart enough to know that the USA can't do anything this time around.

As for the KHL scenario, I could see Atlanta doing something in this, as well. I'm not so sure of the international expansion for the NHL, but it could be looked into definitely.

In a Dream World id like for the KHL and the NHL to merge

Thanks but no thanks to the political commentary.

To the subject at hand, I would go one further to Dobber's idea. I think the NHL should only count KHL-poached players at 1/2 their salaries. So a team could go ahead and offer Morozov $7 million if they so pleased but only have to count $3.5 million against their cap. As it is the only thing tying up the NHL against the KHL is their own rules. So change the rules.

Before actually going to that step, put it on the table when "negotiating" with Medvedev. A think a transfer deal would happen a lot faster.

I think thats a great Idea KT91

The KHL may succeed or fail. If it fails, another try will be made in a few years. But I don't think that they will fail.
Besides the fact that hockey is entertainment mostly sold to corporations, nowadays, most of it's revenues come from endorsements, media rights and side by-products. Also, not all teams are opreated to make a profit. Some are seen as tax-shelters and some may even be money laundering schemes. The fact is that the KHL operates in Russia where rumor has it that the fiscal and legal frame are kind of more "relaxed" than North America and Western Europe. Also, the, Medvedev is one of the highest executive in Gazprom. Gazprom, the biggest Russian corporation works and in hand with the Russian government, so we must ssume that the KHL has govermantal backing. Specially since that lately the Russians seem to be on a very nationalistic binge.
And to top it off, apparently, there's already talk of a KHL style north European league.Saw a newsflash the other day where Hakan Loob (remember him?) was talking about this.

The NHL will have to talk wlth both the IIHF and the KHL and cease to take a heavy-handed approach with them.
If they don't settle their differences over the long term, we may find ourselves back with our pre 80's style regional league.

On another note...NHL expanding in Europe... Jet-lag would be a major problem. It would be hard to schedule games over 10 time zones (LA to Helsinki)

If players want to play in the best league against the best talent then the NHL will always be there. If players want to earn more money or play at home then the other leagues will be a better draw at times.