Spartak received nine players in exchange for one. The deal amazed even the Americans

The most resonant exchange in the KHL in recent years – this is how Russian fans called the main deal this off-season between Spartak and SKA. One of the best young defenders, Alexander Nikishin, left Moscow and went to St. Petersburg, and nine army men move in the opposite direction at once, taking 50 million rubles with them as compensation.

However, the resonant exchange turned out not only because of the generosity of the SKA. Fans of both teams still cannot answer the question: who robbed whom as a result of the deal? But North American experts are confident that both clubs will win.

The exchange benefited everyone

At first glance, it was Spartak that robbed the St. Petersburg club, because the Red-Whites received nine young and talented hockey players at once. However, only five of them joined the Moscow team, which is already undergoing training camps: forwards Fedor Svechkov, Nikita Chibrikov, Pavel Kukshtel, Maxim Krovyakov and defender Nikita Sedov. As for the rest of Spartak’s assets, they are still only virtual – the remaining players are overseas.

Mikhail Maltsev recently signed a new contract with Colorado and will try to break into the main team of the current champion. Kirill Marchenko is a Columbus rookie who is predicted to be on the third line next season. Will not see “Spartak” in the near future and Ivan Morozov – “Vegas” is counting on a young striker. But German Rubtsov is the most real of all virtual players – Rubtsov overseas is not going so smoothly, but he did not want to return to Russia to sit on a bench in SKA. Now the road home looks more attractive.

The story is the same with the players whom the coaching staff of Spartak can feel right now, because not the main players arrived in Moscow. Only 21-year-old Sedov stands out against their background – the defender scored 67 matches in the KHL, playing for Sochi and SKA. The rest of the hockey players are more likely to come from the MHL and VHL. For example, last season Kukshtel played only a match with SKA and 26 games for SKA-Neva, scoring 10 (5+5) points in the VHL regular season. And the 20-year-old Korvyakov has only two matches in the KHL and six in the tower in his entire career. But in the MHL this season, his statistics are a feast for the eyes – 71 (30 + 41) points after 60 games in the regular season. It can be seen that the guy has outgrown the youth league, but there was no place for him even in the SKA farm club.

Chibrikov and Svechkov also cooked in the tower. At the same time, both forwards generally have a real opportunity to soon be in the strongest hockey league. They were drafted by the NHL last year.

So, the silver medalist of the YUChM-2019 Svechkov left in the first round under the 19th number in Nashville. However, a medal from the World Championships does not guarantee a place at the heart of SKA. Svechkov was sent to the SKA-Neva farm club this season, where the forward showed that he is a talented playmaker – in 30 games of the regular season he has 31 (9+22) points. And it is already clear that Svechkov is ready for the KHL. Chibrikov also stands out in the tower, who was selected by Winnipeg under the 50th number. The forward shot 15 goals and gave 16 assists while playing in the army club’s farm club.

And in an ideal scenario, all players will only benefit. If in SKA they were rotation players, then in Spartak they have every chance to cling to the base and ignite in the KHL. North American specialists also speak about this, who hope to see Chibrikov and Svechkov in the NHL soon. In their opinion, the transition to the Moscow club is a great opportunity for players to prepare for the strongest hockey league.

Fedor Svechkov / Photo: © HC “SKA-Neva”

They also note the benefits for the main character of this exchange, Nikishin. Sportswriter Matthew Somm ranked the 2022 Olympic silver medalist 13th in Carolina’s top 20 most promising prospects. He notes the attacking skills of the Russian, but believes that they are not enough for the NHL. And the competition in the top KHL club will just help him add in this aspect. And in a season, he can become the main prospect for the Keynes.

SKA robbed Spartak

In an ideal scenario, Nikishin in SKA will turn into the strongest defender in the KHL, and already Spartak youth will be able to finally prove themselves in the main team. Spartak, although it lost its main asset, received many talented hockey players. But there are serious concerns that only the army team will benefit from this deal, because no one doubts Nikishin’s progress.

Alexander Nikishin / Photo: © RIA Novosti / Alexander Wilf

Firstly, all these talents can return to the VHL again and play for Khimik, Spartak’s farm club. It’s all about the coach of the Moscow club – Boris Mironov did not have a relationship with forward Vasily Ponomarev. The playing time of the hockey player even reached a ridiculous two minutes under the guidance of this specialist. And soon Ponomarev also ended up in Khimik. But later he moved to the Carolinas farm club and won the main AHL trophy last season.

After the striker’s triumph, everyone began to say that Mironov did not know how to work with young people. Now that several young talents have moved to Spartak at once, it will become clear whether this is true or whether the coach and Ponomarev did not get along. If the “red-whites” send all newcomers to “Khimik”, and virtual hockey players never return to Russia, then “Spartak” has acquired nothing at all, except for 50 million rubles. The army team did not lose anything and gave up unnecessary players for one of the most promising hockey players.

In addition, the contracts of Chibrikov and Svechkov are valid until the end of the 2022/2023 season, and then the forwards will most likely prefer to go overseas and break into the NHL. So this exchange will not allow Spartak to build a team for the future. But the season has not yet begun, which means that while both clubs have benefited from this deal.