Sponsors "have been forced to pull funding to a lot of KHL teams" amid Russia's current economic struggles, and the league's survival "may be at stake," according to Mirtle & MacKinnon of the GLOBE & MAIL. Many KHL players "are getting paid late or not getting paid at all." Coaches "have gone without a salary for the entire season," and those who are receiving salaries are getting "only a fraction of the value of their contracts" due to the decreasing value of the Russian ruble. At least three teams are "believed to be on the verge of financial ruin, prompting new KHL president Dmitry Chernyshenko to hold crisis meetings" Wednesday in Sochi with team execs. The gathering covered "a long list of issues, ranging from teams in financial trouble to a rejigging of the revenue-sharing arrangement to a possible new cap on the number of foreign players." That widespread instability has many foreign players who were contemplating a move to Russia "thinking otherwise, which threatens the league’s talent pool, especially in seasons to come." Hockey is not the only sport "threatened by Russia’s financial woes." The country’s pro soccer teams "are all facing the prospect of their top stars relocating elsewhere in Europe, and smaller teams could be bankrupt by next season" (GLOBE & MAIL, 12/18).
BACK ON U.S. SOIL: ESPN.com's Craig Custance wrote while many wonder if the NHL would have "enough hockey fans in Las Vegas to purchase enough season tickets" should the league decide to expand, a "much smaller concern seemed to be the impact NHL expansion would have on the talent pool." In bringing Las Vegas and potentially Seattle aboard in the next several years, the league would be "adding another 40 or so NHL players into the fold." Devils President & GM Lou Lamoriello said, "I think there's a lot of talent out there." Wild GM Chuck Fletcher: "The growth and the talent pool in the United States alone has been tremendous." Meanwhile, Custance wrote the "potential collapse" of the KHL could lead to a "rush of Russian players into the NHL" (ESPN.com, 12/18).
