Ovi On ESPN

No hockey you say? Nay, nay. ESPN has you covered. Because over the pond in the eastern block are a series of games in the Kontinental Hockey League (or KHL for short). A mostly Russian league that was supposed to keep local prospects from jumping the Atlantic for the NHL, has struck a deal with an American sports network, ESPN.

Tuesday, October 9th, 2012 at 1 pm (mark it on your calendar) Alex Ovechkin and the Dynamo Moscow will take on Lev on ESPN 2 (originally all games were going to be on the online channel of ESPN 3, but looks like they will spare some time on the dos).

This will be the first time Ovechkin has skated live on any of the ESPN channels since the NHL made their deal with the then OLN network that would eventually become the NBC Sports network.

You will be at work you say, and can't watch. Well, they have you covered again with a re-air at 8 pm. If you really want to watch it online, they will broadcast on ESPN 3 as well.

From what I can gather, there will be English speaking play-by-play done by announcers in Connecticut watching the KHL feed in Russia. Not like ESPN has the budget to send anyone over there.

Future dates for KHL action include Sunday Oct. 14 DM vs. Amur - 9 am, Tuesday Oct. 16 DM vs. Sibir - 11:30 am, Thursday Oct. 18 SKA vs. Sibir - 11:45 am. All slated to be on the online channel ESPN 3. If you have a smart phone and cable, you can download the "Watch ESPN" App and get all the channels by signing up for free. You can also access it online at espn.go.com.

"I'm in shock!!!!!R.I.P."

Those were the tweeted words of Russian phenom Alexander Ovechkin upon hearing about a plane crash the took the lives of several Russian and Czech hockey players. TSN.ca has the entire story here. Not only were they just KHL players, but some notable NHL players and prospects as well. It hit the Ranger organization the hardest.

It tops one of the saddest off season for the NHL. The loss of enforcers to depression, and now this horrific plane crash remind us how human these players are. In a series of unfortunate tragedies, the league will start camps soon with heavy hearts. It times like this, we have to remember it is just a game.

Bad Contract? Dump It In The KHL

The Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) could be a place for NHL teams to dump bad contracts in this new salary cap . That could be the case if the Washington Capitals move Micheal Nylander's contract to Avangard Omsk. General Managers who want to free cap space with bad deals could find a reprieve in the Russian league by dumping those players across the ocean. Since there is no deal between the KHL and the NHL other than each league respecting the contracts of the other.

Nylander hasn't lived up to the hype in Washington and he has spent a majority of the season in the dog house under Bruce Boudreau's aggressive forechecking style. That has left the crafty centerman off the ice but still pulling a hefty pay check of $5.5 million for the 09/10 season. The contract drops however in 10/11 season to $3 million.

Apparently now, there is a deal in the works between the Avangard and the Capitals that could relieve the Caps of Nylander and give the Jaromir Jagr his assist man back. It is a deal that could be a ripple in the water that leads to a hurricane of contracts that are dumped a sea away. NHL teams that have dead weight could cut it away to the KHL instead of flopping around with it in the American Hockey League (AHL).

Both leagues had agreed to respect each others' contracts. That was put to the test earlier in the year when the Nashville Predators lost a defenseman to the KHL and went to court to get Alexander Radulov back in a Preds jersey.

"Trust me, if we are working on it, that means there is a way," Anatoli Bardin told Sovetsky Sports in a recent interview about getting Nylander to play for a KHL team. Bardin is Omsk region govener's hockey advisor and a former President of Omsk. "We are still working on it. When we have some concrete information, [the media] will be the first to know."

The New York Rangers have done something similar, allowing Darius Kasparatis to play for the KHL after they waived him. But the Rangers didn't get anything in return for the defenseman except for freed up salary cap space.

If a deal is brokered between the Capitals and Avangard, could that mean an exchange of players is possible? Could the KHL be the new AHL in a way? This could also be a legal minefield if there is no deal brokered between the two leagues. One thing is for sure, with a salary cap that may be lowered for next season, teams will be more creative in dealing with heavy and mid level contracts.

"Thank Hockey The Next Time You Fly"

Sometimes when someone finds out that I write a hockey blog, I get these random nuggets of hockey information from out of nowhere. Some people feel the need to show you they know the same or more about hockey than you. Annoying as it is, there are times when someone does give you a nugget that you have to stop and become intrigued.

Recently, a person did come up to me to spew her keen knowledge on hockey upon the knowledge that I have a blog about the Capitals.

"Did you know," random girl starts, "that Orville Wright was hit in the face with a hockey stick? You know the guy that invented flying?"

No, I didn't know that. Didn't dinosaurs, birds and kites beat us to the punch inventing flying?

Random girl continues, "Yea, he lost a bunch of teeth and it was so bad he was bed-ridden and he while he was in bed he read all about flying. So, you should thank hockey next time you fly."

Indeed. It turns out it was half true. It was actually Wilber Wright that was hit with a hockey stick in the mouth in the winter of 1885-1886. About 3 years before the institution of the Stanley Cup. According to Wikipedia, Wilber did lose his front teeth although the injuries were not that severe. He became more withdrawn during his recovery. He did some extensive reading which sparked his interest in flying. Orville dropped out of high school.

No word from the league whether or not there was a fine or suspension.

NHL Notes:

• Back to the beginning, Brendan Shanahan agreed in terms with the New Jersey Devils. The Devils picked Shanahan No. 2 in 1987. Good for Shaney.


• The KHL had their All-Star game in an outdoor game on Red Square in Moscow. You can watch the game on Universal Sports' website. The setting is a pretty unique and a very cool one. Although, the game was only played in front of 3,000 people. A hare shy of the 42,000 at Wrigley Field. Former Cap Ben Clymer had a goal and former Cap Jaromir Jagr had the game winner.


• It's not a good time to be in management if you are with the Ottawa Senators. Things seem to be spiraling from bad to worse, and this time there is no goaltender controversy. Could the Senators be in line for a power shift before the All-Star game? If they do, it would be an eternity compared to Tampa Bay.
  

Ovechkin, Crosby; Crosby, Ovechkin

The Washington Capitals have a date with the Pittsburgh Penguins tomorrow night. This will be the 11th time the Pens and Caps have faced off with both Sid "the Kid" Crosby and Alex Ovechkin in the line up.

Crosby has 7 goals and 19 points in his career against the Caps (although you could count one of Sid's goals to Nick Backstrom, but I am not really going to get into that), while Ovechkin only has 6 goals and 15 points. So far this year both players have gotten off to slow starts, Ovi has only scored in one game so far (albeit 2 goals and a slew of really good hits) and the Kid has only has two assists through 4 games.

The Penguins are a different team this year. No Ryan Malone, Gary Roberts, Marian Hossa. Sergei Gonchar and Ryan Whitney are out of the line up with injuries. If anything, the Pens seem to be a bit vulnerable unlike the past few years these two have met. Even though both Ovi and the Kid down play the rivalry between them, every game has been highly competitive and pretty exciting to watch. The Pens are coming off an emotional OT win over their cross-state rivals.

The Caps are coming off of a big win against the Vancouver Canucks where their team defense only allowed 10 shots against, a franchise record. Viktor Kozlov is out of the line up for at least two weeks with a leg injury. He was cut down in the second period (about 9:04, Rob Davison took out Kozzies legs after he had dished the puck away). If this Capitals play to their potential, then we could be looking at a Penguin/Caps swing in wins between the two clubs with their superstars.

NHL Notes:

In Moscow, thousands came to mourn the sudden passing of Alexei Cherepanov who collapsed during a game in the KHL, the Russian league. While we on this side of the pond didn't really know the New York Ranger prospect well, it is a sad day for hockey everywhere. It brought back memories of Jiri Fischer's collapse on the bench in Detroit. Unfortuneatly this didn't have a better ending.

Okay, I am a little bit over this no commercial break on an icing call. I think the NHL shouldn't have changed this rule. The reason, television broadcasts now are scrambling to put in their commercial breaks later in the period and in the smattering of games I have seen so far it seems like tv was going to commercial at every whistle. I was much happier when I knew that the commercials were relatively balanced through out the game (to time out bathroom breaks, beer runs, etc.). While it's fun to watch nearly 20 to 30 minute of hockey at the beginning, sitting through commercial break after commercial break at the end of the period gets a bit frustrating.

Round One Goes To The NHL

In an exhibition game that pitted the New York Rangers against Metallurg Magnitogorsk of the KHL. I watched a little bit on the NHL Network and the Metallurg team jumped to a 3-0 lead and looked as if the Rangers were down and out. But 4 unanswered goals including a late third period break away goal by Ryan Callahan gave the Rangers the win 4-3 and the Victoria Cup.

In a game that was purely exhibition, both sides played with a great deal of passion. It was rumored that the Russian team promised each player $100,000 if they defeated the Rangers, and they were close to coughing up over $2 million for the win. But the Rangers were able to rebound.

The conditioning of the NHL seems to be the deciding factor, because this Metallurg team was right in it until the end. At the award ceremony after the game the Russian team looked clearly upset, some even crying. While the Rangers won the Russian league team did not look out of place during the game, with some spectacular plays made by both teams. Andrei Mezin, the goaltender for Metallurg, I thought played very well. Chris Drury scored two goals including the game tying goal.

We have pondered that a couple of games between the NHL and the KHL may not be a bad thing. If NHL players will not longer be apart of the Olympics that this maybe an alternative to seeing some great worldwide talent play meaningful games.

On a side note, the Victoria Cup looks pretty cheap. It has a silver (I assume plastic) base and several clear plastic hockey sticks arranged out the top. And it lights up, weird. They also gave out medals which most of the Metallurg players took off right after they had been awarded them.

NHL And KHL Super Series?

Just about every free agent in this summer off season seems to be rumored to be going to Russia for the new Kontinental League. With salaries comparable to the National Hockey League, they are luring talent across the Atlantic and some players are answering the call and commuting to Russia to play.

With now two seemingly good leagues separated by the globe, could a interleague super series be in the future? It's an interesting question and many on the KHL side would like to see NHL franchises compete with their teams. A thought that I am sure has crossed the mind of Gary Betteman. A super series with games both played here in North America and over in Russia.

Imagine Alex Ovechkin playing in his home town of Moscow in a Capitals sweater against his former team Dynamo Moscow or Jaromir Jagr suiting up for Omsk to play against the New York Rangers. Both games heavy with storylines that both Russian and North American fans would understand and both be interested in.

While some here in Canada and the U.S. are outraged about talent making the jump to the Russian Hockey side, many Russians still are mad about the flow of their fellow countrymen playing in the NHL in the 80's. Hockey Karma has a way of doing that. Instead of bickering over players, how about a series of games between the two to bridge the gap.

Downsides? While this seems a winner for the fans, owners from both leagues probably wouldn't want their talented players injured in exhibition games. Plus the cost of shipping players back and forth across the Atlantic could give the owners the shakes and players some serious jet lag.

Of course it has to be profitable too. The whole point of doing things like the Winter Classic is to make money, which the NHL did last January and it's the reason there will be another this season in Chicago. It also has to grab ratings for American audiences. But I think both can be achieved for the basic concept that really no other league from any other sport really does this with the most skilled players in the world. This could help both leagues and would create as close to a world wide league as one could get.

At the very least it is an intriguing proposal. Would you tune in for a super series between the NHL and the KHL?