RADIO
On Sunday, it was reported by Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman that the NHL is nearing a deal with the KHL that would allow teams in both leagues to purchase “specific” players rights. This transfer compensation agreement that would reportedly be for four years was hinted at being close to finished by NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly during the Stanley Cup Finals.
While the details and logistics of the agreement are currently unknown there are certainly parties that project to be winners or losers as a result.
Winner: Top-End Talent
Ultimately the party that will win the most from this transfer agreement is elite talent, specifically in the KHL. The NHL can offer a much higher salary than the KHL can, and with the transfer agreement, elite talent in the KHL will be intrigued about coming over to the NHL for more money. Factor in that the KHL has had serious financial problems in the past few years, the NHL could start to see a higher quality of talent.
Loser: KHL
The KHL has to be the biggest loser of this transfer agreement. While obviously both sides will be compensated, players will want to go to a bigger, better paying league like the NHL. While a lot of Russian-born players will always stay in Russia, most Swedish, Finnish, Czech and Slovakian players, while they play in the KHL, don’t call KHL-territory home and want to play where the money is at, which is the NHL.
Winner: Disgruntled NHL Players
What better leverage for a disgruntled NHL player than to threaten to go play in the KHL. This especially helps Russian NHL players, who if they don’t feel like they’re getting paid requisite or if they had a down year, can go back and play in the KHL with no consequences. They also won’t have to wait for their contract to be up to leave because of the transfer agreement. NHL teams will essentially be forced to trade the player because no team wants a disgruntled player ruining their environment. Also teams don’t want players to leave without getting something in return.
Loser: Russian-born Mid-Tier NHL Draft Picks
NHL teams are already shying away from taking talented Russian players high in the draft because when their contract is up they can follow in the footsteps of Ilya Kovalchuk and Alexander Radulov and play back in the motherland. Now, if this agreement comes to fruition, Russian players are even scarier to take because they can get back to playing in the KHL much easier than before. A bad year, slow contract negotiations or a losing team are just a few reasons a Russian player would want to ditch the NHL. While top Russian picks will still be rewarded and perhaps chosen more frequently, mid-tier and lower-tier picks may be shied away from because not every team is able to take care of all their draft picks, many of whom don't develop at the same rate.
