Translated material
Invitation to civilization
The clubs were explained the new principles of life
In one of the boarding houses near Moscow, located near Mytishchi, a meeting was held between the general managers of the hockey super league teams and the management of the new hockey league, which is still called the KHL. There were no disputes or discussions typical of such forums. The new bosses told us what rules they would have to live by next season, and club representatives threw their caps into the air with joy.In fact, it was one of the most important events held recently. The fact is that although there is an organizing committee, where representatives of the Russian Hockey Federation invited themselves, all the main decisions have already been made without the participation of official officials. Although if you read the official website of the FHR and talk with Vladislav Tretyak, it seems that the federation is at the forefront of the struggle.
“We invited the top officials of the FHR to this meeting,” says one of the club managers. “But then we were told that it was unreasonable.” They say that Tretyak still won’t be able to say anything except phrases about “preserving traditions,” and General Director Sergei Harutyunyan was unlikely to be greeted warmly. For the last year and a half, using Tretyak’s patronage and having the necessary administrative resources, he did whatever he wanted with the clubs. Now they would remember a lot of things.”
The federation sent a harmless person to the meeting, Sergei Shalimov, who only wanted to say something in the first minutes. But everyone tsked at him and smashed weak arguments to dust. The meeting was dedicated to simply explaining the rules of the game to the clubs. What will be new, how will it all be controlled, who will be in charge.
“The most difficult thing was to convey to the general managers that violation of corporate rules will be severely punished,” says a source who was present at the meeting. - For example, take the same “ceiling” of salaries. Formally, it has been in force for two years, but many violate it, knowing that nothing will happen to them for it. Now they will punish for violations, and how!”
“Understand, this is for your good,” the KHL representative exhorted from the podium. — Hockey should be civilized. Otherwise, no one will take this area seriously, which will ultimately backfire on you.” People from the Continental League made it clear that the auditors who will be used during the championship will not understand hockey, do not root for anyone, and mechanically do their job. And it is impossible to hide any violations from them.
Unfortunately, due to the fact that the FHR began a struggle for power and spent three whole weeks on intrigue, the KHL leadership was deprived of the opportunity to prepare the most revolutionary documents. For example, it is already known for sure that the first draft in history will happen only in a year. However, even without it there will be plenty of innovations. The players' union will finally be heard. Its representatives will push the idea of a one-time release from vacation, as well as a precisely agreed number of pre-season matches. The trade union was rightly dissatisfied that for an unclear purpose we practiced the longest training camps in the world. Other teams could gain form and lose it two or three times.
Team applications for the season will be significantly limited. And a very flexible system for exchanging hockey players, which will not allow one team to keep five or six strong fives on the bench. But the most unexpected proposal, which met with universal approval, was the drawing of lots for the championship. It is known that it is impossible to divide our tournament geographically. There will always be people who are offended, and fans of teams will always be unhappy. For example, in Omsk they definitely want to watch Moscow teams. It was decided that, apparently, four groups of six teams, which will play each other at different frequencies, will be determined by lot.
Some questions remained unresolved. For example, Vladislav Tretyak states that there will be no foreign goalkeepers in Russia next season. This decision has been made and is not discussed. But the teams are against such a change in the regulations, rightly believing that Russia does not have the required number of good goalkeepers. In addition, it is an obvious myth that a ban on foreign players will give impetus to the development of the local school. Canada doesn't ban foreigners, but stars appear there all the time.
It is unclear how many teams will take part in the tournament. The offer has been made to all Super League clubs. But whether two or four foreign teams will agree to play in the tournament is still a big question. So far, only the Kazakhs are doing everything to get into the KHL. The rest are doubtful.
“The team representatives understood everything,” the representative of the new league summed up, assessing the results of the meeting. “After a while they will like to live honestly.”