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Introducing Hockey Europe
by PuckStopsHere on 10/23/08 at 12:55 PM ET
Comments (2)
The international hockey world is getting further fractured. The summer has been the story of the fight between the NHL (North American hockey) and the KHL (Russian Hockey). The IIHF (International Ice Hockey Federation) has tried to play as a mediator to the conflict with limited success. The remaining European hockey playing countries of Finland, Sweden, Germany, Switzerland, Slovakia and the Czech Republic are combining forces with a united organization called Hockey Europe. They hope it can be a third major hockey organization that holds significant political power.
They are concerned about losing players to the NHL and KHL without sufficient transfer fees and with the KHL plans to expand into Western Europe in the future. Hockey Europe should make sure that concerns of these hockey playing nations will be heard.
It represents a further splintering of the hockey world. It might lead to a major hockey league forming down the road that will attempt to challenge the KHL and NHL. This might lead to a further dilution of NHL talent as some players with NHL ability opt to play in the European leagues or a stronger combined league.
Here is the New York Times blog slap shots writing about the formation of Hockey Europe.
Filed in: | The Puck Stops Here | Permalink
Tags: Czech+Republic, Finland, Germany, Hockey+Europe, Slovakia, Sweden, Switzerland,
Comments
1) We never saw the KHL as a real ‘rival’ to the US. The decline of commodities, (oil) combined with the Cherpanov incident will further reduce the KHL’s clout. It was never more than a AHL rival anyway
2) The new Euro league is actually a good thing. Its less a further ‘fracturing’ than a uniting of all the rival elite leagues into one potential voting block. Perhaps making it more likely a transfer agreement can be hammered out.
3) Unless/or until they can start paying the top players top dollar all we’ll see is a continuation of what happened in the KHL: Older and lesser quality players go there, and the best of the best continue to play in the NHL.
Posted by fauxrumors from Here on 10/24/08 at 11:52 AM ET
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Does this mean the NHL can now justify pushing for expansion?
Posted by SYF from Las Vegas, NV on 10/23/08 at 12:34 PM ET