Magnitogorsk press release: Malkin agreed to stay

[bigkam]

MM gets nothing after next season, because he will become a FA. NHL teams only owe money to RSL teams when said player still has time left on an existing contract. So one bright spot is that the Pens won't have to change a quarter to get him here come next season.

You are mistaken. NHL pays for every player - even those that are without contract. The money actually goes to IIHF first, and it is considered more of a "player development" compensation. If NHL paid only for players under a contract, no European country would have an incentive to sign an IIHF/NHL agreement.

I checked on it, and you're right. Here's to hoping that those stupid Russians don't sign it again next year so he can just walk out .

[DelPen]

MM gets nothing after next season, because he will become a FA. NHL teams only owe money to RSL teams when said player still has time left on an existing contract. So one bright spot is that the Pens won't have to change a quarter to get him here come next season.

You are mistaken. NHL pays for every player - even those that are without contract. The money actually goes to IIHF first, and it is considered more of a "player development" compensation. If NHL paid only for players under a contract, no European country would have an incentive to sign an IIHF/NHL agreement.

I checked on it, and you're right. Here's to hoping that those stupid Russians don't sign it again next year so he can just walk out .

Actually, I hope the Pens sign him on the day after his contract expires before any other agreement is in place.

[The Snapshot]

MM gets nothing after next season, because he will become a FA. NHL teams only owe money to RSL teams when said player still has time left on an existing contract. So one bright spot is that the Pens won't have to change a quarter to get him here come next season.

You are mistaken. NHL pays for every player - even those that are without contract. The money actually goes to IIHF first, and it is considered more of a "player development" compensation. If NHL paid only for players under a contract, no European country would have an incentive to sign an IIHF/NHL agreement.

So in this whole idea that he becomes a "Free Agent" in May, is it possible that means that the MM club has relinquished the rights to negotiate any transfer fee and may live with any Transfer Agreement that is acceptable without Malkin as the lynchpin?

I'm curious to know whether or mot Malkin and his agent have actually guaranteed his unfettered trip here next season, or whether they have just postponed the fight for another year.

From the last I read of the Transfer Agreement, it doesn't look good to be done next year either, and now the Russians have Malkin for the Worlds no matter what the IIHF does to them.

[DelPen]

MM gets nothing after next season, because he will become a FA. NHL teams only owe money to RSL teams when said player still has time left on an existing contract. So one bright spot is that the Pens won't have to change a quarter to get him here come next season.

You are mistaken. NHL pays for every player - even those that are without contract. The money actually goes to IIHF first, and it is considered more of a "player development" compensation. If NHL paid only for players under a contract, no European country would have an incentive to sign an IIHF/NHL agreement.

So in this whole idea that he becomes a "Free Agent" in May, is it possible that means that the MM club has relinquished the rights to negotiate any transfer fee and may live with any Transfer Agreement that is acceptable without Malkin as the lynchpin?

I'm curious to know whether or mot Malkin and his agent have actually guaranteed his unfettered trip here next season, or whether they have just postponed the fight for another year.

From the last I read of the Transfer Agreement, it doesn't look good to be done next year either, and now the Russians have Malkin for the Worlds no matter what the IIHF does to them.

If what Metallurg says is true then malkin will be without a contract on May 1, 2007. THis means, like many other Russians, he can play wherever he wants, including the NHL. Other Russians who has no contract or escape clauses did it last year. The transfer agreemnt is only good for us if he's under contract to avoid court battles if he were to leave while under a contract.

[The Snapshot]

If what Metallurg says is true then malkin will be without a contract on May 1, 2007. THis means, like many other Russians, he can play wherever he wants, including the NHL. Other Russians who has no contract or escape clauses did it last year. The transfer agreemnt is only good for us if he's under contract to avoid court battles if he were to leave while under a contract.

So, what was the deal with Ovechkin when he was taken to court?

So, if there is not transfer agreement in place by May, and he is officially free, we can sign him for no fee? If that is iron-clad, then I see it as a very disappointing but fair compromise given all the facts that have been made public.

Malkin still should have gotten an out clause in his original deal, but at least he effectively got one now.

[HomerPenguin]

Sorry, Snapper...I see a player who wanted to come to the NHL but was locked in by a contract in Russia. So, all the powers that be in Russia came together and said to him, "Give us one more season and we will let you go. We'll even draw up a new contract in that regard." I think also, the Russians are now hoping to have the transfer agreement in place by then.

Yeah, the Russians have dealt so fairly with him to this point that I can certainly see why he'd trust them to give him complete freedom in exchange for only one more year.

Transfer agreement? If Bettman doesn't rain the international hockey version of hellfire and brimstone down on Russia for this fiasco, the transfer agreement negotiations next year are going to be very interesting.

[pfim]

So, what was the deal with Ovechkin when he was taken to court?

He had an NHL out clause with the original team he signed with in the RSL. Dynamo matched the offer, but they said the out clause didn't transfer. The Russian Court of Arbitration agreed, however, Ovechkin never SIGNED a contract with Dynamo.

Since he never signed a paper document, the US Court had no paper document to base a decision.

[DelPen]

So, what was the deal with Ovechkin when he was taken to court?.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/co ... 01995.html

Ovechkin, 20, left Dynamo in April after helping it capture the Russian Super League championship and signed a contract with a rival team, Avangard Omsk, for the 2005-06 season. The contract with Omsk contained an "out" clause allowing him to void the one-year deal. Ovechkin exercised the clause on July 20 and signed with the Capitals, who drafted him No. 1 overall in 2004.

But Dynamo claims it matched the financial terms of Omsk's offer ($1.8 million), thus retaining Ovechkin's contractual rights under Russian Super League rules. Dynamo's matching offer, however, did not include an "out" clause

So the fight was really between Omsk and Dynamo and had nothing to do with the Caps or the NHL. One would assume that if Dynamo matched the offer all terms and conditions would still apply, not just the money.

[Tomas]

If what Metallurg says is true then malkin will be without a contract on May 1, 2007. THis means, like many other Russians, he can play wherever he wants, including the NHL. Other Russians who has no contract or escape clauses did it last year. The transfer agreemnt is only good for us if he's under contract to avoid court battles if he were to leave while under a contract.

So, what was the deal with Ovechkin when he was taken to court?

So, if there is not transfer agreement in place by May, and he is officially free, we can sign him for no fee? If that is iron-clad, then I see it as a very disappointing but fair compromise given all the facts that have been made public.

Malkin still should have gotten an out clause in his original deal, but at least he effectively got one now.

In a nutshell: Ovechkin was a free agent who signed a contract with Avangard Omsk after the end of the season. The contract included an out-clause. However, his previous team, Dynamo Moscow, claimed that Ovechkin's previous contract gave them an *option* to match any contract Ovechkin was able to get in the RSL, and retain his services - all that without an out-clause (an argument both Ovechkin and Omsk disagreed with). So, Dynamo formally matched the contract and then they went to the court claiming that AO illegally left them for Washington.

[pfim]

So, what was the deal with Ovechkin when he was taken to court?

He had an NHL out clause with the original team he signed with in the RSL. Dynamo matched the offer, but they said the out clause didn't transfer. The Russian Court of Arbitration agreed, however, Ovechkin never SIGNED a contract with Dynamo.

Since he never signed a paper document, the US Court had no paper document to base a decision.

www.dcd.uscourts.gov/Opinions/2006/Sull ... 2006-a.pdf -

[canaan]

http://www.nhl.com/news/2006/08/278516.html

nhl.com has posted this as well....boo!

[Pitts]

I'm curious to know whether or mot Malkin and his agent have actually guaranteed his unfettered trip here next season, or whether they have just postponed the fight for another year.

From the last I read of the Transfer Agreement, it doesn't look good to be done next year either, and now the Russians have Malkin for the Worlds no matter what the IIHF does to them.

This is what I am wondering too. From what I understand, the IIHF agreement expires again after this season. I figure the next agreement will be even harder to finalize since Russia will be campaigning hard for a much more lucrative deal.

So, how does all this affect Malkin once he becomes a "UFA" in May of 2007. I'm with DelPen...if this is the case, if i'm Ray Shero, I have everything ready to go by midnight April 30 and have Malkin signed by 12:01 AM May 1, 2007.

[netwolf]

http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/news/story?id=2542025

Malkin, who has never played for Pittsburgh, had stated his desire to join the NHL this year, saying he wanted to prove himself at a higher level.

His agent said that the Russian, who turned 20 last week, had even signed an entry-level contract with the Penguins.

This situtation might be headed to the courts after all

I read that too. Does that mean the rumours were true a month or so ago that he signed?

He didn't sign any contract with the Pens. If so, the Pen's organization would be making some sort of stink about all this.

Who's to say they aren't? They would gain nothing by arguing their case in public, so why bother? If that contract with the Pens exists, that is.

[Daniel]

No, it should apply to any Russian born player who played hockey for any Russian team lin the last season played.

Or the NHL can wait until after May 1st to sign the IIHF with Russia, therefore allowing Malkin to come as a free agent with no compensation.

I think that maybe that 2 week notice wasn't as easy as we all thought and Malkin chose the easier path to break the contract.

I also think that if the Pens offered Metallburg $1.5million, they will let Malkin go, since this is all about money for them and not hockey talent (or at least it appears this way).

[skullman80]

I'm still waiting for other sources or the Pens to confirm this themselves. ESNP and TSN have picked it up, but all are from the same source, the Metallurg site.

[netwolf]

I'm still waiting for other sources or the Pens to confirm this themselves. ESNP and TSN have picked it up, but all are from the same source, the Metallurg site.

At this point, I have switched over to the "he won't be here" camp. Looks like I was wrong. However, I'm not going to be 100% on one side or the other until the NHL season starts and he is or isn't here.

I don't think the Malkin drama is close to being over yet, one way or the other...

[skullman80]

I'm still waiting for other sources or the Pens to confirm this themselves. ESNP and TSN have picked it up, but all are from the same source, the Metallurg site.

At this point, I have switched over to the "he won't be here" camp. Looks like I was wrong. However, I'm not going to be 100% on one side or the other until the NHL season starts and he is or isn't here.

I don't think the Malkin drama is close to being over yet, one way or the other...

I agree it doesn't look good, at least for this year. That being said I will still wait for an actual annoucnement from the Pens.

[Ian]

he will be here please god please

[Ginger]

I think he had no choice, so he made a deal to play in Russia 1 more season to rip up his old contract to become a FA after the up coming season or they would have enrolled him into his military service & he would have been stuck there 2 more years.

Of course he didn't have a choice. Not a viable one anyway. He's 20 years old with his whole career ahead of him & he's not gonna want to burn bridges behind him.
And while I'm not talking 'literal' here, who knows what kind of gun Rashnikov was holding to his head to help him decide'?
Russian is getting tired of their best ending up signed with the NHL. At least we have to try & understand this from their vantage point. I hate it, but I understand it.

[jimjom]

This sucks so bad. So so so bad. Basically, and I'm not saying anything earth shattering her or new, but Malkin's being bullied by his league. Unbelievable! He is a star in hos own country, sure, and he may be able to make an excellent living in Mother Russia should he stay. But if he comes here, to the NHL, he'll become recogniozable instantly by letting his play do the talking. This sucks.
Would you rather play in front of 3,500 people in Omsk or Magnotogrsk or wherever or play in front of 20,000?