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How many NHL players will go to Europe if there's a lockout? |
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While waiting on word on the NHLPA counter-proposal to the NHL's latest offer, I talked with HockeyBuzz's own Bill Meltzer about the viability of various European leagues as an option for locked-out NHL players. I figured I'd share his emailed response with the readers in the next section of this blog.
More to come later with a look at the latest in the CBA talks. The next round of talks will take place tomorrow in order to the NHLPA ample time to prepare its counter.
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As we saw during the 1994 and especially 2004-05 lockouts, there's no doubt that there will be quite a few NHL players who go play in Europe if there is significant time missed during this season. Because each European league has it own rules regarding import-player limits and their own policies about short-term contracts, you have to look league-by-league as to potential destinations.
One rule of thumb you can use for pretty much all of the leagues: They aren't changing their current import player limits to accommodate NHL players. Also, with rosters already basically filled and the regular seasons starting over there in a few weeks, there really aren't all that many open roster spots to be had, anyway.
Jaromir Jagr, who is majority owner of HC Rytiri Kladno (the Kladno Knights) in the Czech Extraliga while concurrently playing in the NHL, gave an interesting interview to his home media recently about the pros and cons of teams signing multiple NHL players during a lockout. Even if the team can afford the contracts, it still has to gel on the ice while the players are there. It also faces the risk of scrambling to reshape key spots in the lineup when the NHL lockout eventually ends and the players (including Jagr himself) would go back to North America.
In addition, the majority of European teams operate on pretty tight budgets. There is a problem with many teams in simply being able to pay insurance premiums on behalf of NHL players in the event of a career-ending injury. In many cases, the player will either have to foot the insurance premiums himself or, at best, split the cost if he wants to play in Europe.
OK, with these issues in mind, let's go league by league.
RUSSIA
I don't think anyone was too surprised by the recent announcements by Evgeni Malkin and Ilya Kovalchuk that they intend to play in the KHL if there's a lockout. I'd expect that most of the prominent Russian NHL players and numerous others would follow suit. Without looking it up, I believe the six-skater import limit (there are separate league rules pertaining to foreign vs. Russian Federation goalies) is still in place in the KHL.
Also, because the Vityaz Chekhov team imported so many enforcer/goon types who primarily played minor league hockey in North America, the league put wheels in motion to institute a required number of NHL games for North American imports.
The pay in the KHL is quite good; certainly better than the AHL end of two-way deals and sometimes better in net pay than even some NHL contracts. On the whole, the talent level within the league is the best in Europe.
On the flip side, the travel is brutal because the league is spread across the former Soviet Union and now even extends into Bratislava, Slovakia (Slovan Bratislava). In the wake of last year's Lokomotiv disaster, many foreign players are understandably leery about the safety of traveling to games around the country.
Finally, the cultural barriers are more of issue for some foreign players as compared to other European countries. For some players, it's a big deal. For others, it's a non-issue.
SWEDEN
As most folks know, barring a change in policy by the overseeing Svenska Hockeyligan, teams in Sweden's Elitserien will not be allowed to sign locked-out NHL players to temporary contracts this time around. Players must sign for the full season, with no in-season out-clause in their contracts. The ruling includes Swedish NHL players as well as non-Swedes.
In the meantime, teams at the minor league Hockeyallsvenskan level are currently debating whether to fall in line or permit such contracts. Several teams -- most prominently Djurgården, as well as Västerås and Södertälje -- have gone or record favoring temporary contracts. Next Tuesday (Sept. 4), HockeyAllsvenskan will make its decision on whether to fall in line with Svenska Ishockeyligan or opt to go its own way.
Svenska Hockeyligan left the door open a crack in its ruling regarding Elitserien. A lot of folks have ignored the final part of the statement Jörgen Lindgren released about the banning of temporary contracts in Elitserien this season. At the end of the release he said, "We will, of course, continue to follow the developments of an eventual NHL [lockout] and, if the circumstanced change, we'll take the question up for discussion again."
Basically, what this means is that in the still-unlikely scenario that if the NHL lockout ends up in a situation where it looks like it will drag into 2013 and result in another potentially canceled season, the decision may be changed to allow a fixed number of temporary Elitserien contracts. Let's all hope that bridge is never crossed.
SWITZERLAND
Switzerland will probably be the destination of choice for top North American players who either do not want to play in the KHL or else get squeezed out by the import limits.
The league will absolutely bring in some rather high-priced NHL players with "star power" appeal. We saw this in 2004, when the likes of Joe Thornton, Rick Nash, Danny Briere, Martin St. Louis and others played in the Swiss National League.
As with the KHL, the available spots in Switzerland would likely be in high demand among players if there's a lockout. The biggest limitation: There is a four-import limit per team.
For this reason, most of the available spots would once again go to star-caliber NHL players. The remaining spots would go to NHLers (mostly Europeans) who have already proven they excel on the big-rink game.
There are a lot of advantages of playing in Switzerland. The pay is quite good -- better on average than in the domestic leagues of some of the European countries that have more successful national team programs in international hockey. Secondly, the travel is a piece of cake with a relatively laid-back schedule. Last but not least, there's a comfortable lifestyle.
With the schedule breaks, there is opportunity for players to spend extra time with their families and do some off-time exploration of Switzerland and its neighboring countries. For this reason, import players who have young children who are not yet in school often bring the whole family along for the duration of their stint in Switzerland.
In terms of caliber of play in the National League, it is not as good as the KHL or Elitserien. I'd put it roughly on par with SM-liiga on the aggregate; perhaps a small notch behind. Don't confuse national team depth with the caliber of the domestic league, because they are not necessarily one and the same.
FINLAND
As things currently shape up, Finland's SM-liiga will pick up its share of Finnish NHLers and may also benefit by picking up some players who may otherwise have gone to Elitserien in Sweden. There's a good level of play in Finland, and the league is a little bit grittier in its playing style than some of the other European leagues.
As many Flyers fans know, Scott Hartnell is a minority owner of KalPa Kuopio, along with teammate Kimmo Timonen. Ex-Flyer Sami Kapanen is the majority owner. There have been reports in Finland that Hartnell has had conversations with KalPa general manager Kimmo Kapanen (Sami's brother), about playing for KalPa. There have also been rumors in the Czech Republic about Jagr trying to bring both of his former Philly linemates -- Hartnell and Claude Giroux -- along with him to Kladno. So who knows?
CZECH EXTRALIGA/ SLOVAK EXTRALIGA
In most cases, I think most of the NHL players who would go to play in the Czech Republic during a lockout would be Czechs or Slovaks who want a chance to suit up for the teams that gave them their starts in the sport. There could also be a few players from elsewhere, but you will probably be able to count them on the fingers of one hand.
The reason, pure and simple, is money. The Czech teams operate on very tight budgets, which is why even most Czech former NHL players returning to Europe usually play in other countries until late in their careers when they simply want to keep playing and/or give back to Czech hockey.
The budgets are even tighter in the Slovak Extraliga. The top Slovak team, Slovan Bratislava, no longer plays in the league. They moved to the KHL this season. You may see an NHL player or two join a club like Dukla Trencin (the other traditional Slovak hockey power) but money would not be their main objective.
OTHER LEAGUES
I think it's almost certain that a few NHL players -- both Germans and North Americans -- would sign with teams in Germany's DEL. It has traditionally been a very import-heavy league, although budgets are a bit tighter right now and there have been (much-needed) efforts to increase the emphasis on allowing young domestic talents to develop. Clubs such as Eisbären Berlin or Hamburg Freezers, both of which are owned by LA Kings owner Philip Anschutz (yes, there's a conflict of interests) could pick up some NHLers.
The Austrian-based EBEL will probably pick up a couple of NHL players during a lockout. Well, at least Red Bull Salzburg would. Guess who founded that particular team? Yup, Philip Anschutz. Red Bull by far is the wealthiest team in that league. The Vienna Capitals also might be able to land an import or two.
Some NHL players may have motivations for playing in a particular circuit other than making the most possible money in the interim or going up against the best possible competition, I think you'd see a handful of players go off the beaten path. For instance, Hartnell played in Norway during the 2004 lockout. You could see one or two players spend some time in Italy's Serie A or similar leagues. The UK Elite League usually has a smattering of players with NHL or AHL experience, but these are usually tough guy types.
Hope that was helpful. Keep in mind that these are very broad overviews and the actual league-by-league, team-by-team and player-by-player scenarios will absolutely vary from what I described.
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