KHL approves Hudler contract

by James Mirtle on Jul 30, 2009 12:41 PM CDT Comment 14 comments

On the day Jiri Hudler is scheduled to have his arbitration hearing here in Toronto, the KHL released the following statement with the reasons it is approving his contract:

Today, on the 30th of July at 10 a.m., the KHL registered the contract of Jiri Hudler with HC Dynamo (Moscow). This was done because of:

Absence of Agreement or any other type of arrangement between the KHL and the NHL regarding transfers of players who are under status of restricted free agents

Rejection of the NHL to cancel registration of contract of player Evgeni Dadonov with NHL club Florida Panthers despite the fact that all contractual and sports rights for the player belong to HC Tractor Chelyabinsk

Absence of valid contract of Jiri Hudler with any NHL club

Prohibition from the NHL management to the Detroit Red Wings to negotiate with HC Dynamo Moscow on the rights for Jiri Hudler

Attempts by the Vancouver Canucks to sign a contract with hockey player Sergei Shirokov for whom all contractual and sports rights belong to the HC CSKA Moscow

The KHL had to settle the following decisions:

To register the contract of player Jiri Hudler with Dynamo Moscow on July 30, 2009, without dependence of the results of hearings at NHL arbitration on his case. Hudler has the right to make his own choice in which league he will play

To confirm that KHL is ready at any time and in any format — including through meditation by the IIHF — to start negotiations with the NHL on the status of restricted free agents and on any other aspects of General Agreement on transfers of players between the KHL and NHL

So, regardless of the outcome of the arbitration hearing, Hudler's gone. All the ruling will do is guarantee the Red Wings have his rights whenever he decides to return to the NHL.

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Am I wrong or is the KHL getting its panties in a bunch over some of its own RFAs signing with NHL clubs at some point?

by Habs on Jul 30, 2009 1:01 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

I meant “wasn’t the KHL”

Silly verb tenses…

by Habs on Jul 30, 2009 1:02 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

So the "gentlemen's agreement" is broken

And that’s because the KHL could declare a player to be under contract if they like. From all the reports, Sergei Shirokov believed that he was a free agent at the time when Vancouver signed with him. It’ll be interesting to see how this unfolds in the future. Could there be a long period of time where every player in the KHL is a free agent to the NHL and vice versa?

by SJKel on Jul 30, 2009 1:03 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

You can't trust communists

Simple as that.

by Exit716 on Jul 30, 2009 1:09 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Absence of valid contract of Jiri Hudler with any NHL club

No surprise in the timing of this by the KHL, since the arbiter would be awarding Hudler a two-year contract to the Red Wings in about 48 hours after his hearing this afternoon. Or on Monday he’d get the contract (since I think weekends don’t count towards the clock). Still.

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by Hooks Orpik on Jul 30, 2009 1:43 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Did you read this Puck Daddy piece on the KHL RFA’s?

http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/blog/puck_daddy/post/Breaking-the-shackles-of-restricted-free-agency-?urn=nhl,178394#remaining-content

Pretty interesting how the KHL says that Hudler should make his own choice… when the players mentioned above essentially can’t make a choice about their KHL team’s qualifying offers.

Hockey blogging can't get any flatter.

by saskhab on Jul 30, 2009 2:20 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Ha that’s where I got the impression that the KHL was running a double standard on its on RFAs VS the NHL’s.

by Habs on Jul 30, 2009 2:22 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Cold war resumes!

The cold war resumes! If it ever was over.

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sometimes I find it's better to be somebody else

by Fauxrumors on Jul 30, 2009 2:50 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Must Crush Capitalism

Pension Plan Puppets: A Toronto Maple Leafs blog and a group therapy session.

by PPP on Jul 30, 2009 7:19 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Rejection of the KHL to cancel registration of contract of player Alexander Radulov with KHL club HC Dynamo (Moscow) despite the fact that all contractual and sports rights for the player belong to Nashville Predators

Am I doing it right?

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by Doogie2K on Jul 30, 2009 11:02 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

What a bunch of hypocrites. If they’re going to play like that, they need to let Shirokov and Parshin leave.

by chileiceman on Jul 30, 2009 11:47 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

The Soviet Union and other nations lost hockey players when they were facing a lot scarier threats than “we will sic our lawyers on you and force you to honor your contract!” If someone is determined enough to leave, they will still figure out a way.

"Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a great battle." -- Philo of Alexandria

by Baroque on Jul 31, 2009 6:13 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

In my opinion, KHL teams should be free to nab NHL RFAs (and vice versa obviously). People tend to overlook the fact that NHL teams have signed contracted players from European leagues even after the previous transfer agreement ran out. European teams can do nothing to stop it, nevermind keeping out-of-contract players regardless of age. A KHL team nabbing an out-of-contract player is nothing to get upset about. It should be viewed as perfectly acceptable practice. Why would an out-of-contract player have to take an NHL team’s contract offer instead of a better offer from the KHL?

Now, the people running the KHL are power-hungry hypocrites, no doubt. Yet, the more blatant hypocrisy is on the NHL’s side. The KHL is just doing what the NHL has always been doing. Now that the NHL is seriously challenged by another league, the NHL head honchos cry foul and claim it’s not fair. In my opinion, any out-of-contract RFA should be free to move between leagues if he so chooses. After all, the only reason an out-of-contract RFA remains property of his respective NHL club has to do with NHL’s own intra-league rules designed to help small market teams stay competitive by being able to hold onto their players instead of losing them to richer NHL clubs.

by bearhunter on Jul 31, 2009 6:21 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

The only problem here is that Hudler requested arbitration. Once he did that, should have accepted his commitment. If there was no arbitration, but only an impasse between himself and the Red Wings, then by all means, go to Russia with my blessings.

by Resolute on Jul 31, 2009 10:10 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs