NHL Versus KHL: The Fight Over Olympic Hockey

The NHL is holding out on making a commitment to the 2014 Olympics in Russia. The NHL is booked only for 2010 in Vancouver, Canada, but not the following Games in Sochi, Russia.

Medvedev says he believes the NHL is using the 2014 Olympics as bait in the backdrop of its current problems with the Russian hockey federation and the KHL.

The NHL's complaint is that the Russians refuse to negotiate a new player-transfer agreement.

The 2014 Games will be the first time the Russian Federation will host the Winter Olympics. The Soviet Union hosted the 1980 Summer Games in Moscow.

Alexander Medvedev is the Deputy Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors of Russian energy company Gazprom, and the Director-General of Gazprom's export arm Gazprom Export and president of the Kontinental Hockey League.

He is also the president of SKA Saint Petersburg hockey club and Russia's representative to the International Ice Hockey Federation Council.

The Kontinental Hockey League, founded in 2008, is considered to be the second-best league in the world, and at the top of the European elite leagues. The league was formed in 2008 from a predecessor organization, the Russian Superleague.

The KHL began its operations with 24 teams, 21 of which are based in the Russian Federation and three located in Belarus, Latvia, and Kazakhstan.

Teams from other countries teams are expected to join in future years. Berlin, Prague, Stockholm or Helsinki could soon join the KHL.

The KHL's top two former NHLers are Jaromir Jagr and Alexander Radulov. Jagr comes from the Czeck Republic and Radulov was born in the Soviet Union.

Alexander Radulov was still under contract with the Nashville Predators for one more season when he had signed a three-year deal with Salavat Yulaev Ufa of the KHL. The contract remains disputed.

Jaomir Jagr plays for Avangard Omsk in the KHL. Jágr formerly played in the NHL with the Pittsburgh Penguins, Washington Capitals, and New York Rangers.

Jágr is still in the top fifteen among players in NHL career goals, assists, and points, and is regarded as one of the game's all-time great players.

Jágr wore the number 68 in honor of the Prague Spring rebellion that occurred in Czechoslovakia in 1968.

His deal is for two years plus an option for a third, and will pay Jagr about $7 million tax-free—the equivalent of about $11 million a season in the NHL, depending on the value of the ruble.

Ray Emery, formerly of the Ottawa Senators, plays for Mytischi Atlant in the KHL.

A minority of the players are from other Eastern European countries, with an influx of Canadians beginning to sign on with clubs as the league gains prominence. Several KHL teams have signed several players from the NHL.
A dispute between the NHL and the KHL over some of those signings was supposed to have been resolved so each league would honor the contracts of the other. The signing of Alexander Radulov -- made public one day after the agreement (though it was actually signed two days prior to the agreement), lead to an investigation by the International Ice Hockey Federation.
The top team in the KHL today is Ufa Salavat Yulayev, the team that signed Radulov, who was considered a rising star in the NHL.
Ufa also has Steve McCarthy, a Canadian who played in the NHL for the Chicago Blackhawks, Vancouver Canucks, and Atlanta Thrashers.
 Ufa, means "small" in Turkic. It is a city of just over one million people, about seven hundred miles east of Moscow.
In second place is Mytishchi Atlant, with Ray Emery, a Canadian who played five seasons with the Ottawa Senators. Emery has had a salary dispute with Mytishchi Atlant, claiming the team used the wrong exchange rate on Emery's $2 million annual wage.
    Mytischi is a city of 150,000, not far from Moscow. The team used to be known as Khimik.
Jagr's team, Omsk Avangard, is in 13th place. He has 25 goals and 26 assists in 49 games. The team has two other former NHLers.
John Graham, an American, played for the Boston Bruins, Tampa Bay Lightning, and Carolina Hurricanes. He was the goaltender for Team USA in 2007.
Jakub Klepis, from the Czech Republic, played for the Washington Capitals a few years ago.
Ray Giroux, another Canadian in the KHL, played for the New York Islanders and the New Jersey Devils and is now with St. Petersburg in the KHL, along with David Nemirovsky, a Canadian who played for the Florida Panthers, several years ago.
Pierre Dagenais, a Canadian who played for the New Jersey Devels, Florida Panthers, and the Montreal Canadiens, now plays with Chelybanisk Traktor of the KHL.
Mike Fountain, a Canadian who played for the Ottawa Senators almost a decade ago, plays for Tolyatti Lada of the KHL.
Matta Ellison, Mark Hartigan, and Duvie Westcott are Canadians playing with Riga Dynamo, alongside Marcel Hossa, from Slovakia.
Hossa played for the Canadiens, Rangers, and Coyotes. Ellison played with the Blackhawks and Flyers. Hartigan played with the Red Wings, Blue Jackets, and Thrashers, in the NHL. Westcott also played for the Blue Jackets.
Kirby Law, from Canada, played for the Flers, and is now with Nizhnekamsk Neftekhimik in the KHL.
Joel Kwiatkowski, a Canadian, played for the Senators, Capitals, Panthers, Pengins, and Thrashers, in the NHL, and now plays for the Cherepovets Severstal in the KHL.
Astana Barys has three Canadians with NHL experience: Kevin Dallman, Trevor Letowski, and Marc Lamothe. Dallman played for the Blues and the Kings, Letowski played for the Canucks, Blue Jackets, and Hurricanes, and Lamothe was with the Blackhawks and the Red Wings for a couple of games.
Jeff Jillson, an American, who played for the Sharks, Bruins, and Sabres, plays for Balashikha MVD, along with three Canadians: Jame Pollock, J.F. Fortin, and Michael Garnett. Pollock played for the Blues, briefly, Fortin played for the Capitals, and Garnett was with the Thrashers.
Bryce Lampman, an American who played for  the Rangers for several games, is now with Khabarovsk Amur, along with three Canadians: Nolan Pratt, Kyle Wanvig, and Tyler Moss. Pratt played for the Huricanes, Avalanche, Lightning, and Sabres; Wanvig was with the Minnesota Wild; and Moss played for the Flames, Hurricanes, and Canucks.
Ross Lupaschuk played a few games with the Pittsburgh Penguins and is now with Novosibirsk Siber of the KHL along with another Canadian, Tom Lawson.
Two Americans and five Canadians play for Minsk Dynamo. There are five Canadians playing for Chekhov Vityaz.

The 21st Winter Olympics, will be held February 12-28, 2010, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, with some events held in Whistler. The 2010 Winter Olympics will be the third Olympics hosted by Canada, and the first by the province of British Columbia.
These will also be the first games to be held in an NHL market since the league allowed its players to participate starting in 1998 at the Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan.
Vancouver will be the most populous city ever to hold the Winter Games. It will also be the warmest.
On February 12, 2009, Canada and the rest of the world started the 1 year countdown until the opening ceremonies in 2010.
GM Place will be renamed Canada Hockey Place during the 2010 Winter Olympic Games. General Motors Place (nicknamed The Garage and GM Place) is an indoor sports arena, located at 800 Griffiths Way in downtown Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Completed in 1995 at a cost of C$160 million in private financing, the arena is home to the Vancouver Canucks of the NHL, and was formerly home to the Vancouver Grizzlies of the NBA and the Vancouver Ravens of the NLL.
Sochi (Russian: Сочи, pronounced [ˈsotɕɪ]) is a Russian resort city, situated in Krasnodar Krai just north of the southern Russian border. It sprawls along the shores of the Black Sea and against the background of the snow-capped peaks of the Caucasus Mountains. At 145 km (90 mi), Greater Sochi is claimed to be the longest city in Europe. In 2006, the population was 395,012.