While the Russian Kontinental Hockey League (KHL), with franchises in four other countries, has nabbed some younger NHL players, and at least one good one in the talented Alexander Radulov, 25, who left three seasons ago, the majority of the league's former-NHLers are of the older variety, players who've dropped a notch, or more, in terms of ability.
Dmitri Kalinin, Kyle Calder, Pavol Demitra, Brandon Bochenski, Dominek Hasek and Oleg Tverdovsky are cases of older players who've bolted to the KHL. Younger players over there never high up the NHL depth chart include Ilya Zubov and goaltender Michael Garnet. That trend toward losing players that won't hurt so much for the NHL to lose continued July 29, 2011 as reports said two veteran NHL'ers were heading to the KHL.
NHL Loses Sopel, Kovalev to the KHL
TSN reported that Canadian Brent Sopel, 34, who won a Stanley Cup with the Chicago Blackhawks in 2009-10, is off to play for Metallurg Novokuznetsk of the KHL, while numerous reports have Alexei Kovalev, whose poor play has seen him fall out of favor with the entire NHL, going home to Russia to play for Atlant Mytishch.
Metallurg Novokuznetsk can use all the defensive help it can get after finishing 23rd and last in the 23 team league last season (the league will have 24 teams next season). Kovalev's new team, Atlant Mytishch, finished second overall in the regular season and went to the final for the Gagarin Cup, losing in five to Salavat Yulaev.
Sopel and Kovalev: NHL by the Numbers
Sopel was taken in the 1995 NHL entry draft in the sixth round, 144th overall and played 659 NHL games and was 44-174-218. He was a career plus 32 and played for the Canucks, New York Islanders, Los Angeles Kings, Chicago, the Atlanta Thrashers and Montreal Canadiens.
Often accused of not putting it all on the ice, Kovalev, 38, split his final season between the Ottawa Senators and Pittsburgh Penguins. He started as a New York Ranger and won the Stanley Cup there in 1993-94. He went to Pittsburgh, back to the Rangers and then to Montreal and on to Ottawa.
Kovalev had only 34 points his final year but in a career spanning 1,302 NHL games he was 428-596-1,024, 68th on the all-time NHL scoring list. His playoff stats were 45-55-100 in 123 games.
Both players signed two-year contracts; financial details were not released. KHL training camps start in August and their 56 game season gets underway Sept. 7th.
Join the Conversation