“They told Mikhail: ‘When you are ready to come back, call me,'” the sports director told how Maltsev moved to Spartak.

Sports director “Spartacus” Roman Belyaev, in an interview with , talked about how the striker joined the Moscow team from the Los Angeles system Mikhail Maltsev .

The 25-year-old center forward ended up at Spartak last off-season when SKA sold his rights following a deal that featured defender Alexander Nikishin.

On July 1, 2023, Maltsev signed a contract with Los Angeles, but only played in the AHL farm club, scoring 14 (4+10) points in 21 games for the Ontario Reign. Today it became known that Maltsev decided to join Spartak.

— How did you manage to invite Mikhail Maltsev to Spartak? For many years he did not want to leave America.

— Since the summer, we wanted Mikhail to return to our league. And the circumstances were such that he had no real chance of playing for Los Angeles at the moment. He played in the AHL and he wasn’t very happy with it.

Some time ago Mikhail and his representatives contacted us and we agreed on everything. The main problem to be resolved was the relationship between Mikhail and the kings. Today, all that was resolved. We expect Maltsev in the coming days, he should join Spartak. All issues were resolved and Los Angeles gave the green light for Mikhail to return to Russia.

— How will this be legally formalized?

— It’s still difficult to say. Either a lease until the end of the season or a termination of the contract in America. Most likely, the first. But all the problems have been resolved and we are waiting for Mikhail. As I understand it, the NHL office will receive all the necessary paperwork from Los Angeles. There is a certain practice according to which if Maltsev’s season in the KHL ends a little earlier than in North America, he can fly abroad to play more there.

— There were rumors that Maltsev set the condition: “I don’t want to play for Spartak, change me to another KHL club.” It’s true?

– This didn’t happen at all! Mikhail is a very positive guy and he did not make such demands. We have been in dialogue since the rights were exchanged to Spartak. We met, stayed in touch and talked a lot throughout the summer. And we immediately said: “Mikhail, as soon as you are ready to come back, you have our phone number – call. And that’s what happened.

— Do you see a center forward in Maltsev for the first two lines?

— Potentially a good, high-level player. He spent the last few seasons in the NHL club system and played there. Well, it’s up to the coaching staff to decide where he plays.

— Now we see how the exchange of Alexander Nikishine for nine players goes. This is not to say that Spartak are a loser here.

— I have always said that these exchanges should be evaluated after two to five years. However, we have nine people, which represents nine assets. Maybe at some point they will all play for Spartak or in the KHL. Where will Alexander be at that time? We believe he can play in Carolina and become an NHL star. After all, Nikishin is the strongest defender in our league today. In terms of his level and his physical qualities, he is already ready to play in the National Hockey League. And everyone is waiting for this,” Belyaev said for .

At the time of the December holidays, Spartak occupies first place in the KHL summary table, gaining 56 points in 41 matches.

Watch live broadcasts of the Fonbet KHL championship matches on the channel, as well as on the matchtv.ru and sportbox.ru sites.

Source : MatchTV

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