Economy Hinders KHL From Challenging NHL For Players, Interest

Medvedev Frustrated By NHL-KHL Relationship

As the KHL wraps up its first season, league execs have found that as a result of the economy, challenging the NHL for players and international interest has been "more difficult than first imagined," according to Tripp Mickle of SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL. KHL President Alexander Medvedev said the league's first season has gone "well." Medvedev: "Obviously the crisis is not a very nice event, but all the teams will finish the season, and recently the board of directors took a comprehensive package of anti-crisis measures, which is targeted not just to survive but develop." Medvedev said the KHL is in "very sturdy shape, but some clubs (are) facing situations where sponsors' and owners' cash flows are diminished." Meanwhile, Medvedev said he is "frustrated" about the KHL-NHL relationship. Medvedev: "Isolation will neither benefit the KHL or NHL. We will never come back to the situation where it was a one-way street between Europe and North America. The NHL should understand that the world has changed and cooperation is the only option" (SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL, 2/16 issue).

FACE-OFF: Medvedev said discussions with the NHL surrounding RW Alexander Radulov, who signed with a KHL club despite being under contract with the Predators, are "on hold" and the case is "artificial." Medvedev: "We have a very simple concept. It's necessary to create a two-way street that will enrich hockey in both Europe and North America. We're very committed to this idea, and frankly I'm not a little bit, but seriously frustrated about where we stand with the NHL." Medvedev also said he does not "understand why the NHL doesn't commit" to releasing players for the '14 Sochi Olympics. Medvedev: "OK, so we don't have a good dialogue now, but we should think about the future of hockey." Looking to the future of the KHL-NHL relationship, Medvedev said, "I would like to stress that we are open for constructive dialogue with the NHL. I believe it would be the worst possible case to use legal reasons not to progress, and with good will we could find a solution" (N.Y. TIMES, 2/15).