Translated material
Harsh Realities
In the KHL they lose or change jobs against their will
The first coaching resignation is about to happen in the Kontinental Hockey League championship. And it can by no means be called sensational. Sergei Gersonsky from Avangard may be replaced by one of the foreign specialists. The reason is the failure at the beginning of this season.We have already reported that Sergei Gersonsky was unofficially tasked with scoring more than 75% of points in the first six matches of the KHL championship. But the team's performance frankly did not please the managers. First, there were two defeats in Kazan and Nizhnekamsk, in which, by the way, Jaromir Jagr, the most expensive hockey player in the Russian championship, did not score a single goal. The impressions were slightly corrected by two victories over Lada and Magnitogorsk Metallurg, but the crushing failure in the home match from Salavat Yulaev overflowed the cup of patience.
They say that Jaromir Jagr did not find a common language with Gersonsky. They, of course, did not quarrel openly, but the Czech forward expressed doubts about the correctness of the training process and tactics for the games. He doesn't like the kind of hockey the team plays, although he admits that he himself is not in the best shape yet.
It must be said that friendship with Jagr is one of the main conditions for a future head coach. If Jaromir is dissatisfied with something, then he will not be able to show everything he is capable of. And if the Czech forward doesn’t score, then it’s completely unclear why they spent crazy money on him. Thus, among the favorites for the post of coach of the “hawks” was Jagr’s fellow countryman Marek Sikora. He is familiar to hockey fans from his work with Metallurg Magnitogorsk. And, I must say, his actions in the Ural club left a generally positive impression. Sikora was invited to Metallurg this summer, but he did not want to terminate his contract with his native hockey federation. Now he is being offered absolutely fantastic conditions.
However, it is possible that Bob Hartley may also move to Omsk. According to rumors, he has already flown to Siberia, familiarized himself with the club’s infrastructure and agreed on money. However, the deal was not approved by the governor of the Omsk region, Leonid Polezhaev. What confuses the team curator is still unknown. Heatley is also a good option for Jagr. Bob worked in the NHL and knows how to talk to stars, how to build relationships with great players, he understands perfectly well that each hockey player on a team requires an individual approach and will not mess things up.
Dave King, another candidate for the coaching position, also has the necessary experience and knowledge. In addition, he succeeded in a lot with the already mentioned Metallurg, but how he left the club is a separate conversation. King wrote a book where he revealed the secrets of Russian hockey. He noted the luxurious dacha of the team's general director Gennady Velichkin, laughed at how the head of the Magnitogorsk club carries around a purse allegedly filled with money, and revealed the vices of Russian hockey.
He may be a good coach, but at Avangard they will think a thousand times whether they should trust a person who can then bring all their dirty linen to light. It is clear that things are done the same way in any Russian team, and a new book could simply damage the image of Omsk. According to available information, the owners of the Siberian club will make a decision at the beginning of this week.
Penalties against Neftekhimik head coach Vladimir Krikunov will probably be announced on Monday. He managed to criticize the work of the referee after the victorious match. According to the new rules, immediately after such a speech, the league’s expert commission checks the work of the referee, and if everything is normal in his actions, then the critic will have to pay a tidy sum.
Anatoly Zakharov, who worked in Nizhnekamsk, is an experienced referee and is unlikely to have made any serious mistakes. Moreover, the losing Lada club thanked him for his work and did not express a single complaint.
One of the most technical forwards in the Russian championship, Alexey Simakov, replaced CSKA with SKA this season. The management of the St. Petersburg club very much persuaded the forward to join them, increasing his salary several times. Simakov agreed, but in the end played only one match for the new team.
He did not feel the best attitude from Barry Smith, the head coach of SKA, at a tournament in Austria, where the team did not perform very well, finishing third. Upon returning home, Simakov was put up for the waiver draft, but due to his high personal contract, not a single club chose him. Another solution was found. Simakov was exchanged to Magnitogorsk for striker Yuri Babenko. Alexey himself is shocked by this development of events. But in the KHL everything is harsh.
Results. KHL. September 13. "Khimik" - "Traktor" - 0:5, SKA - HC MVD - 2:3, "Severstal" - "Amur" - 3:2 (b), "Lokomotiv" - "Metallurg" Nk - 5:3, "Dynamo" Mn - "Torpedo" - 0:5, "Vityaz" - "Dynamo" M - 1:2 (b). September 14. "Barys" - "Salavat Yulaev" - 3:2 (bull.), "Khimik" - "Metallurg" Mg - 1:2, "Severstal" - "Sibir" - 6:1, "Dynamo" » R - Atlant - 2:0, Vityaz - Neftekhimik - 2:1. The leaders are: Salavat Yulaev, Atlant - 13 each (5 games), Lokomotiv - 12 (5).