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Dallas Stars Daily Links: Russian is the New Russian

Posted on by Kathleen Tibbetts

Slava Fetisov is by any measure and in any era a hockey hero, and one of the biggest. Forget for a moment the talent, the records, the Olympic gold and the Stanley Cups earned as both player and coach. His fight to change the Soviet player development system (most recently documented in the art-house hit Red Army) made it possible for him — and for Sergei Zubov and Evgeni Malkin and Alex Ovechkin and Vladimir Tarasenko and Nikita Kucherov and Valeri Nichushkin and so many more — to choose where they would make their sporting careers.

And now he wants to bring that system back, or something much like it. Fetisov has proposed that Russian hockey players be required to play in the Kontinental Hockey League until age 28:

Fetisov, 57, the former Detroit Red Wings star who serves as a senator on Russia’s Federation Council, made his remarks days after Russia’s national team lost, 6-1, to Canada during the World Hockey Championship final on Sunday. His remarks also come after several young Russian players, including new Chicago Blackhawks signee Artemi Panarin, announced they would be leaving the country to join the NHL next season.

Hockey expert “Igor Kuperman called me in shock and said that 40 players are leaving Russia to join North American leagues,” Fetisov said. “And what [is the KHL] left with? He said there’s simply no one else to call. Meanwhile, Panarin, who’s 23, is going to the NHL because we haven’t spelled out the rules!”

Fetisov suggested a move back toward Soviet-era laws that put harsh restrictions on hockey players’ freedom of movement. Fetisov said he supports the idea that no Russian hockey player should be allowed to play outside the country until age 28, especially when the country “has the most talented, the ones who the people come to see.” [Washington Post]

It’s impossible to talk about this story without acknowledging its political dimensions. As mentioned in the article, Fetisov is a politician himself; he represents the Primorsky Krai, a district in the Russian Far East that includes the port city of Vladivostok and parts of Siberia and Outer Manchuria. He’s publicly criticized Red Army writer-director-producer Gabe Polsky for the film’s failure to get a distributor in Russia and accused him of demanding too much money from a country that can ill afford it. (The nation’s economy is, in a word, terrible; even KHL players who get paid on time are dealing with a ruble so devalued it’s worth only two U.S. cents at this writing.)

Fetisov is also tight with Vladimir Putin — in fact, he returned to Russia in 2002 to become Minister of Sport at the president’s request. And Putin has decided it’s time for the nation to come back to the game it used to dominate on the international level:

Fetisov’s statement may be shocking, but I wonder if it should be surprising. He never defected and never wanted to. He considers himself a patriot. He saw a need for change in his country and fought for it. Maybe he thinks change is needed again. Maybe he thinks this time it’ll be different.

And it should be noted that this was a statement of opinion and not of policy, although Fetisov’s political connections leave no doubt that such a ban could be enacted if the correct authorities decide it’s in their long-term best interest.

It’s also purely a matter of speculation how Fetisov’s proposal, enacted as government policy, would affect the Russian players (read: passport holders) who are currently on roster in the NHL or its associated development teams — or those like Dmitry Sinitsyn, currently playing in the KHL and drafted by but not yet under contract to the Dallas Stars. Maybe it won’t affect them at all.

But you can’t help wondering what will become of the next Ovechkin, or Tarasenko, or Nichushkin.

*****

It’s Memorial Day in the United States. Hopefully you have the day off. And to any veterans reading this: Thank you.

Jim Nill has returned to Dallas bearing World Championship glory. Mark Stepneski sat down with him to discuss the Stars’ standouts in Prague (including Esa Lindell), the upcoming draft, the Hip Crowd, and the Memorial Cup. [Stars Inside Edge]

Mike Heika has a new column up, too. Here’s what he says about how Team Canada’s first World Championship win since 2007 has benefited both the Stars’ players and their general manager.

Gary Bettman says there’s no evidence to link concussions and chronic traumatic encephalopathy. (Psst: You’re burying the lead, Worldwide Leader.) [ESPN]

It did not take long for someone to call shenanigans:

You already knew Nicklas Lidstrom was one of the smartest men in hockey. Now the former Red Wing is a listed co-author on a research study about individual intelligence in team sports, which makes him a brainy science guy, too. [Detroit Free Press]

The Arizona Coyotes have hired the 25-year-old who founded Stathletes.com as their new assistant general manager, because of course they did. [SB Nation]

Elsewhere, the NHL has announced the GM of the Year nominations. Bob Murray, Glen Sather and Steve Yzerman, please make your way to the front of the room. [TSN]

Anaheim Ducks goalie Frederik Andersen is from Denmark. The LEGO Group is, too. So Andersen got a mask design that portrays him as a LEGO figure. Everything is awesome.

In other Ducks news…sure, we’ve all thought about dropping a meteor on Corey Perry, but did Mike Milbury go too far when he said the rest of the league wanted to “hurt him in some painful and permanent way”? NBC exec Sam Flood says he’s “talked to Mike” about it. [NBC Sports]

ICYMI, here’s the exchange in question:

Meanwhile, is it true that if you say “Corey Perry” three times, he’ll appear before you and say he wants an apology? [L.A. Times]

Which players are the top 5 possible free-agent signings for the Stars’ offseason? Jordan Dix (not Jamie Nix) has some familiar suggestions, plus a surprise or two. [The Hockey Writers]

Also from THW: Who are the top 5 unrestricted free agents still in the playoffs? Mark Scheig says former Dallas Star Brad Richards is one of them. (Brenden Morrow was a runner-up.) [The Hockey Writers]

Finally: On this day in 1977, a little art film called Star Wars burst free upon the world. This year, the Dallas Stars let loose a high point of the late 2014-15 season. Relive with me the second-period intro collage known only as “Space Reopen.” How many references did you understand?

Talking Points