Spartak sporting director Roman Belyaev told that the club wants to strengthen the defensive line.
Previously “Spartacus” » added 40-year-old forward Ilya Kovalchuk, who returned to big hockey after two and a half seasons.
On Thursday, head coach of the “red and whites” Alexei Zhamnov announced an agreement on the transfer of 25-year-old center forward Mikhail Maltsev. On July 1, 2023, he signed a contract with Los Angeles, but only played for the AHL farm club, scoring 14 points (4 goals, 10 assists) in 21 games for the Ontario Reign.
— Spartak is satisfied with its solid managerial actions this season. Have you already completed the kit before the deadline?
— There are still almost three weeks until the deadline. Now the KHL All-Star Game will take place in St. Petersburg, before which a meeting of the club’s leaders will take place. There we will also discuss with colleagues and consider some options.
And so we work more at the request of the technical staff. We need a defender. We want to strengthen our defensive line. We will work in this direction. And if unexpected players suddenly appear on the market that can strengthen us, we will of course also participate in them.
— How did the negotiations with Ilya Kovalchuk begin? Who was the initiator?
– Let’s wait until Ilya starts training and gets back into shape. And we’ll talk about it again after the season. But everyone is inspired. You understand when such a player enters the team locker room. Many young people saw Kovalchuk only on television and played it on a computer console. And then it happens, and many guys have no words, goosebumps run down their skin. But Ilya is a team player and a positive person. There will be no problems and for Spartak this is a very serious strengthening,” Belyaev told .
By the time of the December holidays, Spartak is in first place in the KHL, winning 56 points in 41 matches.
Watch live broadcasts of Fonbet matches of the KHL championship on the channels of the Match holding company, as well as on the sites matchtv.ru and sportbox.ru.
Source : MatchTV
I’m Emma Smith, a dedicated journalist and avid storyteller. I have been writing for news websites for the past 5 years, reporting on hockey news and delivering in-depth analysis of the sport. In my current role as Author at Athletistic, I write about hockey events from around the world to keep followers up-to-date with what’s happening in the sport.
