In the sensational case with Ivan Fedotov's contract with CSKA Moscow only the hockey player himself, the club, the International Hockey Federation (IIHF), partly the Russian Hockey Federation (FHR), and also the National Hockey League (NHL) appeared in the media field. But the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) preferred not to make premature comments and continued to work with lawyers during the pause.
On August 28, a few days before the start of the new KHL season, which will be opened in Moscow by CSKA and Ak Bars, the league broke the silence . The organization's president Alexei Morozov met with journalists and clarified the current situation.
“Fedotov didn’t know about the contract with Philadelphia.” The conversation with the KHL president immediately began with the topic of Fedotov’s name. Morozov said that after the goalkeeper signed a contract with CSKA, the league received the relevant documents and approved them with the Russian Hockey Federation, thereby However, the FHR notified the KHL of Fedotov’s disqualification, which, we recall, is 4 months from September 1, 2023 to December 31, 2023. During this period, Fedotov will not be available to play for CSKA in the KHL. of hockey of Russia, Alexei Morozov confirmed this today.But with a caveat — according to the situation at the moment.The head of the league hinted several times that lawyers continue to work and everything can change in these four days before the start of the championship.
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«CSKA lawyers are working on this case. We all want to help Fedotov, who has not played for a year due to military service. I spoke personally with Ivan, and he said that he signed a contract with CSKA on purpose. He wants to play for CSKA. We are well aware of the seriousness of the situation, sanctions and laws. Will he be able to play on September 1st if nothing changes at the moment? At the moment, no,” said the president of the league.
He also stressed that in the course of the proceedings, the KHL had a dialogue with the NHL — Morozov talked with the league's deputy commissioner Bill Daly. During the dialogue, the North American League pointed to the “freezing” of Fedotov’s contract for the 2022/23 season (missed by Ivan due to military service) and the automatic extension of the agreement for the 2023/24 season. But, according to Morozov, Fedotov personally did not know about this:
“The IIHF recognizes Fedotov’s contract in the NHL, but we didn’t see a signed agreement for the 2023/24 season. Ivan sent documents to the IIHF stating that he has a contract only with CSKA, which we registered after working with lawyers. After speaking with lawyers, we concluded that the concept of «freezing» the contract can be interpreted in different ways. Daley referred to the fact that Fedotov's contract with Philadelphia was extended for the 2023-24 season, but the player was not notified about this. He didn't know about it».Alexey MorozovPresident of the Kontinental Hockey League
Remarkably, in the KHL All-Star Game, which will be held in December this year, Fedotov will be able to play — formally, there are no barriers for Ivan in this matter.
“CSKA did not put pressure on the KHL when registering the contract” Representatives of CSKA and personally club president Igor Esmantovich repeatedly spoke of their firm intention to declare Fedotov for the match with Ak Bars on September 1. Alexei Morozov was asked a fair question: «What will happen if CSKA decides to do this?» We did not receive a clear answer, but the KHL President recalled the procedure for applying for a team to the game.
“1.5 hours before the start of the match, the team submits an application to the officials for the game. the right to take part in the meeting, there are no bans for him. What will happen to Fedotov? We will find out 1.5 hours before the start of the match on September 1. Only after that the league will respond,» said Alexei Morozov.
The more interest it is to come to the Moscow arena in the Park of Legends on the evening of September 1. More specifically, Morozov spoke about something else. When the league registered Fedotov's contract with CSKA, rumors spread on the network that representatives of the army club could put pressure on the leaders of the KHL. Alexey Alekseevich denied this information.
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"I talked personally with Fedotov, found out his situation in the NHL. There was no pressure on the league. We took a break to take stock of the situation. And when we figured it out, we understood Fedotov's desire to play for CSKA, and then we registered his contract. The lawyers explained to us that we can do it. Could this situation have been avoided? The KHL has an agreement with the NHL, they are actively lending players to our clubs, because the NHL understands that our league is progressing, the players are developing here. I know that CSKA contacted Philadelphia with a rental question. What response did the club receive? The league is not aware".
Is the independence of the KHL impossible? In the course of the dialogue with Alexei Morozov, not only Ivan Fedotov was discussed. The discussions touched upon the trend of naturalization of foreign hockey players (which, by the way, will not be limited by the league in any way), re-signing by KHL clubs of contracts with their players with lower salaries for them, as well as the absence of new applications for joining the KHL from other teams.
But of particular interest was the topic of the autonomy of our league. After a series of harsh sanctions against Russian hockey, the proposal to withdraw the KHL from the influence of the FHR and IIHF has gained particular relevance. The main argument of supporters of this idea is: «Look at the NHL, the IIHF cannot influence it in any way. Therefore, the KHL must achieve the same.» for the Russian Ice Hockey Championship from the FHR. The current contract is valid until April 30, 2025.
“There is a law. The KHL is a law-abiding league. All-Russian competitions should be held by the FHR. The Federation delegated us the right to host the national championship. autonomy of the league at least in theory? We do not play in theory, but observe the law. All competitions held in Russia belong to the FHR, and these tournaments must be included in the calendar of the Ministry of Sports of the Russian Federation. If we do not join the unified calendar plan, then the players will not will be able to receive sports ranks,» Morozov explained.
Therefore, talk about the independence of the KHL and its movement along the path of the NHL must be discarded for the time being.