The situation of foreign hockey players in Russia is becoming more and more difficult. The transfer market is hot as many players switch clubs. Not everyone can, even if they wanted to.
The situation of foreign hockey players in the KHL league is becoming more and more precarious. Russia invaded Ukraine last Thursday. Europe responded to the war by imposing large-scale sanctions on Russia.
The war has also had a significant impact on the daily lives of foreigners playing hockey at KHL. The EU said it was closing its airspace to Russian planes and the ruble depreciated against the dollar by almost 30 percent after the trading day opened. Some Russian banks will be excluded from the international Swift payment system.
Russia is responding to EU sanctions with its own sanctions.
The player-agent reached by Sport confirms that many European players have been in contact with the agent’s office and asked for help to get out of Russia. The player agent does not appear in the matter by name because of the sensitivity of the matter.
– Really many European players want to leave Russia. I think the situation is pretty widespread everywhere, no matter where you play. Everyone out there wants to get out.
Earlier on Monday, Urheil reached the goalkeeper Frans Tuohimaan, who said he was seeking to leave Russia. Tuohimaa, who plays in Neftehimik Nizhnekamsk, did not yet know how to get out of the country. Sports also reached Ufa’s Finnish coach Tomi Lämsäwho said that he and the club ‘s Finnish players plan to continue through the KHL playoffs, which start normally on Tuesday.
However, mere notification of departure is not enough. Players are bound by existing player agreements.
– Teams can’t be left in the lurch, but it’s not good for players to be good because of all this. The contract has to be reviewed from claim to claim as to the conditions under which the contract may be terminated. It has a lot of legal things to go through, the player agent opens.
The World Cup is interesting
In addition, mapping out a new club brings its own challenges. The Finnish Hockey World Championships, which will be played in Helsinki and Tampere in May, are especially attractive to Finnish players.
– When someone announces that they want to leave, they can’t miss the rest of the season. Really many players are attracted to home races, and if there is no play, then the train goes.
The transfer market has been hot in recent days. A new contract for many of the players who switched from the Jokers was released on Monday. The Jokers announced on Friday that they would withdraw from the KHL playoffs.
– Really hard snort. Top teams are looking for confirmations, some are making next season’s contracts. There have been loans on the move. Also in Germany, the top competitors are looking for confirmations and according to my own information, there are a few Finns going there as well.
The player agent working in Finland believes that no foreigners will play for KHL next season – nor will there be any foreign teams.
– It’s really hard for me to see you go back there after the summer. At least I don’t think players have a terrible enthusiasm to go there, even though it’s more rewarding to play there. In my opinion, the league will continue within the borders of Russia and everyone else will leave. The jokers will be in a hurry to get on their feet next season. Hopefully they will get into the SM League.