“The first reaction when I signed the contract was shock: ‘Wow, how much money!’ Frank Sergachev

“I will buy real estate for four billion”

– Mikhail, where will you spend four billion rubles? I just converted your contract into rubles at the current exchange rate.

– You miscalculated. There are taxes and everything else. So where am I going to spend it? After all, I have everything, thank God. And there are no big expenses. And I’m just putting in money.

– Where do they invest four billion in 24 years?

— I’m not a bank manager and I don’t understand stocks. But the simplest is real estate. I will not open any sink or hookah.

– Then, information circulated via Telegram that your agent Dan Milstein does not take commissions from his clients. Is it true ?

– It does not work like that. But I can’t reveal the details of our contract. And in general, for the first time I hear that agents have stopped taking money from hockey players.

Dan Milstein added: “We have the same conditions for everyone. We do not charge clients upfront when developing at a young age. And everyone pays the same percentage on contracts, and that’s extremely fair.

– It would be strange if the guys didn’t pay interest. How would this business work then? Sergechev laughs.

“If there was such an opportunity, I would make sure I couldn’t be traded”

– Is the eight-year contract an initiative of the club or the player? And how important is it that for a certain period of time there is a clause that you cannot be traded to another club without your consent?

– Regarding the exchange. We have Kucherov, Vasilevsky, Stamkos, Hedman the same contracts. When a new player signs a contract, he gives you a model: we signed these guys and you did too. So I had no choice.

And if there was such an opportunity, I would usually make sure I couldn’t be traded. Because I want to stay in Tampa forever.

I really wanted to sign the longest possible contract – eight years. The club was not opposed, so our desires coincided. It’s such a mutual thing.

– In the last game of the final against Colorado, you had the longest playing time. So will it continue?

Of course, I would like to play more. My average playing time was 22 minutes. I want to go to the next level. But the most important thing for me is stability.

My dad always says that’s the difference between a good player and a great player. Here, Andrei Vasilevsky is stable, and therefore he is the best goalkeeper in the world. Victor Hedman is stable so he is the best defender in the world.

– And I think I miss this stability in the game a bit to stay at my level. Sometimes I lose it. So I’m going to work on it. It’s a matter of focus and preparation.

“I studied to be an accountant, I graduated two years ago”

“How are you going to spend your summer?” Will you come to Russia?

– No plans yet. I wanted to go to the US Open tennis championship – to the final in New York. And from July 30, I will already start preparing for the season.

– I will ask differently, approaching the subject of military conscription: where did you study? Would you like to get a second education?

– I would very much like to study in a business school, direction “management”. That’s the idea I have. When the time comes, I take care of it. But these are just plans for now.

And my first training – I already learned to be an accountant.

– Seriously?

— Yes, two years ago, I defended my diploma.

– So you can be Kucherov’s accountant?

– Yes. Or I’ll go work for Dan Milstein when I’m done with hockey.

– This season, NHL players were not allowed to go to the Olympics. Didn’t you feel like this was your last chance to win a medal? From now on, Russian athletes may no longer be allowed to participate in the Summer Olympics.

– At that time, in December, I had no idea that at 24 my last chance for the Olympics might be gone. But I was upset that we didn’t go to Beijing. I think everyone was upset in general – and not just Russians, but also Canadians, Swedes, Americans, Finns…

It’s a big downside in a good season where the league has won a lot. And so I will believe until the end that I will still have a chance to go to the Olympics, to feel this atmosphere. Maybe something to gain.

– Will the NHL organize a new World Cup there?

– Such rumors circulate. I think it’s a good thing for the league. I don’t know if we will be allowed to play there. But I hope so.

“The contract was concluded in Mexico”

Did you sign the contract while you were in Mexico?

“Well, how was it?” There were negotiations, they sent me a contract, I was in Mexico. You can sign it online. I did this while on vacation.

– The internet is bad, a tropical downpour, the wife takes him on an excursion, then a contract for 68 million dollars arrives. What’s your reaction ?

– In fact, we agreed on a contract even before I flew to Mexico. Then, when I rested, Dan worked out the details. When everything was agreed in words, there was great joy. But online observation is already more of a formality.

The first reaction, of course: “Wow, how much money!”

– I was in shock, I will say right away. It is a huge sum. On the other hand, I immediately understood that the team wanted to see me for eight years at home. And she is ready to give so much money for me, to give me a role. The motivation came then.

How will your role in defense change with the departure of Ryan McDonagh?

“We have to play more defensively. If Eric Chernak and I are dating, it’s probably the first minority. Although, maybe Hedman will play there, I don’t know. On the contrary, you need to ask the coach about it.

But, I think the playing time will increase, more defensive functions will appear. In other words, the requirements for me will increase. At the same time, more goals, assists, points. This is what I will demand of myself.

“Kucherov always beats me in chess”

– Vladislav Namestnikov returned to Tampa. The Four Musketeers are reunited again. Did you congratulate him in the general chat? Do you have a conversation there for four?

– No, if someone from the Russians is traded or leaves the team, we remove him from the chat. So there are three people in the chat so far. But we will add names. Where without him?

In short, excellent news! Even Dan wrote to me: “There will be a surprise soon. When I saw that Namestnikov had signed, I was immediately delighted. Sent him a message. All the boys were happy. We are all good friends. And I started in the league when Names was still playing for us. Gathered such a male company. And here we are again together. Vlad is a great professional and a very nice guy. It’s a win-win for everyone.

– For journalists, it’s a pity that we did not see Kucherov’s “drunk” press conference for the third time. Did the team get angry?

– Yes, because everyone was waiting for Kuch to undress again, get drunk and come out on the microphone. But seriously, after the loss in the final, everyone was very upset. I think for three or four days they just walked around and stared at the ceiling, not knowing how to digest this defeat.

Because when you go so long in the cup, through terrible injuries and end up losing, there is a very, very unpleasant feeling. And he’s still sitting inside, he’s not going anywhere. We were so close that the bitterness is still there.

– Vasilevsky found himself in the third round, when all of New York chanted in honor of Shesterkin: “Igor is better!”?

– Even if the game is going well, but one thing is not working, Vasya still doesn’t want it to happen. He is neither upset nor angry. But he is a perfectionist. And he wants the matches to always be perfect.

He likes to be thrown around a lot. But sometimes he gets angry when he plays badly.

Vasya is a great professional, he has his own routine. He builds plans in his head. I don’t know how it works for him. But Vasya is therefore the best goalkeeper in the world. It doesn’t matter what people say, it doesn’t matter who receives the Vézinas.

– When you fly in an airplane, do the three of you play something?

“Kuch and I just started playing chess and backgammon. Because you’re bored and don’t know what to do. Someone reads, someone watches series. But already they end interesting.

Somehow an idea came up, and now we hack with it. I want to improve myself. I’m thinking of reading a chess book to beat it.

“So Nikita is better at chess than you are?”

– And what, you don’t see him playing on the ice? He thinks three moves ahead.