The KHL Really Tries Hard …
The latest out of Russia and the KHL has their president coming out and saying to Ilya Kovalchuk that the league wants him and are prepared to do whatever it takes. KHL President Alexander Medvedev has said that their league will give Kovalchuk 17 years if that’s what he wants and they’ll let him choose his team! How wacky is that 
“(We) can easily offer Ilya Kovalchuk a contract for the same 17 years like New Jersey … If Kovalchuk likes number 17 that much. We will have an option so he can choose where to play at the dawn of his [KHL] career.”
I am going to have to look into the finances of the KHL at some point, I am becoming too curious. They seem to be firing money around with no real sense to it. If the league steps in and picks up the tab on Kovy’s potential deal, how is that fair to the teams he does not choose to be a part of should he want into the KHL? When does the league become completely run by the head office if it’s not already?
Moscow Dynamo … one of the KHL’s biggest, if not the most famous clubs, filed for bankruptcy this offseason. Not a great sign. From what I read, most of a club’s revenues in the KHL come from sponsorship … not ticket sales, as tickets go for between $5-$20. Consider this too … Jiri Hudler who bolted from the NHL last year for the KHL, asked out of his contract to come back to the NHL … for half the money. Not a ringing endorsement for the KHL.
One interesting fact I read about the KHL … standard contracts are done with a 70/30 % earnings split. Playing in the regular season earns you 70% of your salary and playoff performance dictates the remaining 30%. I liked that … talk about giving a bit extra incentive to the playoffs. Money though cannot replace heart in terms of the sacrifice required to win at that level. Neat idea though … I like performance based contracts in some cases.
Anyway, despite all the headache with Kovalchuk … I do hope he remains in the NHL … I like us to have the best.
