“Dramatic changes must be made in a year, and not put the clubs in front of the facts”
– In the new season, the KHL promises to increase the number of regular season matches to 68. Is it a lot, a little or the best option?
– First of all, you have to wait for this number to be approved by the KHL Clubs Board of Directors. In the meantime, we can only see that this is more than last year, when the clubs had to play 56 matches, and because of the covid they played even less.
I think the league should make such drastic changes to the competition at least a year, not a few months before the tournament starts. We have the same smart thoughts that come to mind for some reason before the start of the season. Do you want to change something? Lets go. Only in a year, so that the clubs apprehend these novelties and prepare for them serenely. Because for the professionals who work in the clubs, all these reforms are a headache. They also have to think about both logistics and hotel reservations, figure out how much money this will all take. Especially now, when air travel is not easy. And they are put before the fact – now it will be so.
It is clear that professional hockey players must play during the season. SDUSHOR kids need to practice more than adult players. Therefore, in principle, the increase in matches is correct. But, again, such things must be done in advance. And today we have significantly increased the number of matches. Tomorrow we will adopt a new position for the limiters, the day after tomorrow for the legionnaires…
– This time the tournament provides only one break for national team matches – in December. In other words, in November and February, the championship will not be interrupted. Will it make it more equal?
Of course, the fewer breaks the better. I can imagine how the KHL staff working on compiling the schedule sighed with relief. Because it was simply impossible to establish a rhythmic schedule and at the same time make windows for national team tournaments. In general, I don’t like the fact that a public dispute has broken out between the FHR and the KHL over the championship formula. Agree between them, then announce. All these open disagreements certainly do not contribute to the popularization of hockey.
“If the playoffs are crossed, then there is no need for conferences”
– Another innovation is in the works – a crossover playoff, without division between East and West. How do you like this idea?
“To be honest, I don’t see a fundamental difference. There are of course their pros and cons.
– Let’s say that for SKA and CSKA, the advantage is that the army team has a chance to face each other in the final.
Let’s say that’s a plus. But there is also an obvious downside. For example, for Ural fans, the derby between Traktor and Magnitogorsk is a much more exciting confrontation than, say, the series between Traktor and Lokomotiv. I’m not talking about the “green derby”, from which fans of Ufa and Kazan in the playoffs go crazy. Their struggle in their region is much more interesting.
In general, all these innovations should not be lowered into the league from above. They must be offered by club representatives. They know better from the inside how to make their championship more interesting. Then it will immediately be clear where the legs grow from. Does the FHR delegate the rights to host the championship to the KHL? And how to conduct it – the league itself must decide. When there are two sides that don’t quite agree, that’s bad. You need a specific character who makes responsible final decisions, like Gary Bettman in the NHL.
Isn’t it time to abolish conferences altogether? Why divide the KHL into West and East?
– If the playoffs are crossed, then the need for conferences is a priori incomprehensible. When you change something, everyone must clearly understand why these changes are necessary, what they are for. And for some reason, no one explains it to us. Yesterday, they still didn’t want a cross playoff. Now they want. Why all of a sudden? The same goes for 68 games. It turns out, as if in a joke: “Three hairs – is it a lot or a little? Lots of it in the soup, but not much on the head. First you have to decide – what all this is for.
– What do you think of FHR’s proposal to split the KHL into two subgroups in the future – stronger and weaker?
— I don’t see any particular advantages to this system. I think this will cause a whole series of events on the ground, which are not visible at the moment.
“Make a tough offer – 22 players”
Do you need your own underdog tournament for teams to fight for the right to stay in the top flight?
– As long as the teams enter the KHL on a financial basis, and not on a sporting basis, it is not necessary. Well, what’s the point of VHL clubs fighting underdogs in the KHL if they don’t intend to increase their club’s budget to get into the main league. In the transition tournament “Ugra”, for example, will rest and beat everyone. Well, what’s next? Most likely, conversations will start about the fact that the club has no money. There have been so many stories in the past that players have almost gone on strike, refusing to play without pay. No one wants to repeat them.
– “Lada” and “Forge” reluctantly left the KHL. Their fans were definitely against it.
— All fans want their teams to play in the KHL. And club leaders too. The question is whether the team owners want it. I guess the owners of Lada and Kuzny clearly weren’t opposed to moving to the VHL in order to reduce their hockey costs. Otherwise, these clubs would have no problems.
– And yet, every year I pity the fans of the “basement” clubs in the ranking. In December, their teams begin selling top players, ending the season. And it’s more than two months before the end of the championship!
– To eliminate such things, you must first be very clear about what we want to achieve in our league. I imagine it in such a way that we want to increase the prestige of the KHL and the interest of the fans. And to do this, it is necessary to increase the level of competition. So that it is not like in the USSR, when CSKA was champion 33 times and everyone watched how the places would be distributed there after the army team, the champion is known in advance. This is exactly what no one needs. That’s why I say you have to understand what goals are pursued by the people who introduce changes in the championship. Remember what discussions took place about the emergence of “Kunlun”. From a sporting point of view, the Chinese club really has no interest. But there, apparently, there were geopolitical reasons for the leadership.
“By the way, Kunlun was transferred to the Western Conference.
“Kunlun has been waiting for his transfer to the West for a long time. He will apparently be playing in Mytishchi again, not Shanghai. I just had to take matters into my own hands. While there were Russian coaches and half of our players. As they play in the KHL, everything makes sense.
– Many still think that we don’t have enough quality players for all clubs.
– So you do, like in the NHL – a tough application for 22 players. And there will be something for everyone! Well, fools don’t work overseas. The others are in the farm club. A person from the main team played with you, played a certain number of matches, his contract changes from bilateral to unilateral. In order to send him back to the farm club, you must first put him on a denial draft. But you have to move your brain so as not to be mistaken in such a situation. Nobody wants to do that.
Source : MatchTV
I am Sandra Jackson, a journalist and content creator with extensive experience in the news industry. I have been working in the news media for over five years. During this time, I have worked as an author and editor at various outlets producing high-quality content that attracts readers from different demographics.
