Mikko Lehtonen and his player-agent Mika Rautakallio told Iltalehti that the contract with SKA St. Petersburg has finally been terminated. Lehtonen describes playing in a country that started a war as repulsive.
1.5. 09:57 • Updated May 1st. 11:25
Hockey player Mikko Lehtonen and his player agent Mika Rautakallio have told To Iltalehti (go to another service) the reasons why Lehtonen did not leave the Russian main series KHL in the middle of the season.
Russia invaded Ukraine at the end of February, after which Finnish players left the series one after another. Keeper Frans Tuohimaa told how difficult it was to leave Russia.
– During the dialogue, it became clear that the termination of the contract would have cost the player 160 million rubles, which is about two million euros at the current exchange rate, Rautakallio says.
He opens that Lehtonen’s contract was the largest in KHL, which raised the demolition amount high.
– KHL’s standard contract contains clauses on how much a player will have to pay if he terminates the contract. Or how much the club has to pay for the early termination of the contract.
According to Iltalehti, the management of the national team has always been aware of Lehtonen’s situation.
“Relaxed feeling”
Rautakallio says that the agreement with SKA’s management was reached during the playoffs: the club will terminate the final contract if Lehtonen plays in St. Petersburg until the end of the season.
Rautakallio says that Lehtonen’s contract with SKA expired on April 30.
There would have been another three years left in the contract.
– It’s a really relieved feeling. In this global situation, it was the only solution, Lehtonen says.
According to Lehtonen, it was disgusting in St. Petersburg during the war.
– The mind was always like not wanting to be here. It doesn’t feel good to play in a country that has started a war. I wanted to leave in the same way as many other foreign players.
According to Rautakallio, Finnish KHL players were in contact with the Finnish Hockey Association and the NHLPA, for example, to ask the international hockey association IIHF to help players who were in the same situation as Lehtonen.
– The final decision of the International Federation was that they would not take part due to financial and legal risks. If the IIHF was not ready to take up the issue and help, then how can an individual player take a two-million-euro risk on their future, Rautakallio says.
Updated the story on May 1, 2022 at 11:25. Added to the story that Kemppainen’s and Komarov’s contracts with SKA also expired.