This year, the situation in the market of players in the KHL is extremely difficult. Due to political events, foreigners refuse to go to Russia, and the best Russian players whose contracts have expired still look to the NHL. Currently, only one contract has been announced, with the legionnaire confirming his arrival. Vityaz extended the agreement Daniel Odette. So far, none of the clubs have been able to negotiate with players from North America and Europe.
“Pioneer” until last counted Shimon Grubets, with whom he had a contract for next year. But in early May, it was difficult to imagine under what circumstances the Czech goalkeeper would return to Russia. At home, he came under criticism for finishing the playoffs all the way. At the end of the season, he gave an interview to a Russian broadcast and was scolded for it. Swiss press reported that the goalkeeper will continue his career in Zurich and his contract will be for one year. Now nothing prevents him from signing an agreement, because the contract with the Omsk club was officially terminated at the initiative of the player. According to the regulations, in this case the hockey player has to pay 1/3 of his entire salary for the next season. According to media reports, Grubets would earn 50 million rubles next season, which means they have to pay 16.6 million. In theory, Avangard could refuse to forego the transfer card if it refuses to pay compensation. The IIHF has already made it clear that they will not discuss the status of foreign players’ contracts with KHL clubs, so it will not be possible to play in Switzerland without him.
In Omsk, they quickly found the location of Grubets, although it was not possible to look for an equivalent. Immediately after the news of the breakup with Shimon, a one-year contract with Shimon was announced. Stanislav Galimov. The 34-year-old goalkeeper spent last season in the Finnish Championship. He was the main player in Karpyat and showed good stats (91.3% of shots were saved). You have to admit that this is not the highest level Finnish league. In the KHL in recent years, Galimov did not go. The 2020/21 season at Dynamo Riga was terrible. But there are so few goalkeeper options on the market that signing Avangard doesn’t seem like a failure. Although a pair of Demchenko – Galimov still does not seem suitable for a campaign for the Gagarin Cup. Perhaps the management of the “hawks” will continue to look for keeper in the North American market.
Metallurg is doing just that now. The Magnitogorsk club is trying to negotiate with one of the Canadians. Eddie Pasquale (played for Lokomotiv) and Matt Tomkins (in Sweden). Playing for Poland, Andrei Filonenko has been invited to a trial contract. But it is unlikely that he will be considered for the role of the first or second number in KHL. Both Pasquale and Tomkins would be good choices for any KHL team today. Especially with a backup like Vasily Koshechkin. But according to Erykalov’s colleague, there are difficulties in the negotiations. Alyosha Pilko’s manager did not give up on the idea of giving Reed to Bush along with Pasquale. But Ilya Vorobyov does not need a scandalous striker. As for Tomkins, who could go to Dynamo Moscow last year, he made a preliminary deal with Swede Farjestad. He went to the Olympics last season, played three games, played for Frölunda and showed an average statistic – 90.8% of shots were saved. Prior to that, he played two seasons in the NCAA and the AHL without much success there. Pasquale has played in the KHL for the past three seasons, has good stats in the regular season, but has been unsuccessful in this playoff.
A year ago, such a choice of goalkeeper by the clubs claiming the Gagarin Cup would have been harshly criticized. However, the most endangered breeds in the KHL are good goalkeepers. Talented Russians go to the NHL and swing there. Others are not progressing fast enough to be the first numbers of strong clubs. And Vasily Koshechkin is not getting younger. And while it was difficult to bring in a cool foreigner, today it has become nearly impossible when Europeans don’t risk negotiating with Russian teams. It all goes to the fact that performance should improve next season. True, for this you need masters in the attack.
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