KHL

The NHL has informed all 32 general managers in a memo Monday that it has severed ties with Russia's Kontinental Hockey League amid the country's ongoing invasion of Ukraine, according to Frank Seravalli of the Daily Faceoff.

The NHL directed its teams to "immediately cease all dealings [direct or indirect] with the KHL and KHL Clubs [and all representatives of both], as well as with player agents who are based in and continue to do business in Russia," Seravalli added.

The NHL will continue to respect current and future KHL contracts, according to Seravalli, but it won't be able to" verify contractual status directly."

"We will have only limited contractual information regarding players who are currently or last played in the KHL," NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly said in the memo.

NHL teams can still sign KHL players to contracts, but they must work with the Central Registry to show "independent written evidence demonstrating that the player is entirely free of any and all potentially conflicting contractual obligations in the KHL for 2022-23 and beyond."

The KHL has become a hotspot for some of the best hockey players in the world, some of whom have reached the NHL, including Kirill Kaprizov, Ilya Sorokin and Artemi Panarin.

The NHL's decision to cut ties with the KHL could also have an impact on the 2022 NHL draft and beyond. According to Seravalli, NHL front offices "have expressed concern" about drafting players born in Russia, fearing that the United States and Canada won't grant them work visas.

The NHL announced last week that it was suspending its relationships with business partners in Russia and would not consider the country as a potential location for future league events:

The National Hockey League condemns Russia's invasion of Ukraine and urges a peaceful resolution as quickly as possible. Effective immediately, we are suspending our relationships with our business partners in Russia and we are pausing our Russian language social and digital media sites. In addition, we are discontinuing any consideration of Russia as a location for any future competitions involving the NHL.

We also remain concerned about the well-being of the players from Russia, who play in the NHL on behalf of their NHL clubs, and not on behalf of Russia. We understand they and their families are being placed in an extremely difficult position.

The NHL is only the latest organization to cut ties with Russia amid its ongoing invasion of Ukraine. Formula One canceled the Russian Grand Prix, which was set to take place in September, and UEFA moved this season's Champions League final from Saint Petersburg to Paris.

The KHL's Vladimir Tkachyov provided possibly the top hockey highlight of 2016, and the summer isn't over yet. 

The Russian found a new way to beat a goaltender in a shootout as part of Ak Bars Kazan's preseason club showcase, per Jared Clinton of the Hockey News.

Tkachyov scooped the puck onto his blade, lifted it and then fired the stick toward the goal while the puck remained in place.

The javelin throw worked to perfection for the best, funniest goal you'll see this summer. 

Would this be legal during an actual game? Of course not. But that doesn't make it any less awesome.

[YouTube]

Professional athletes rely on their skills during the regular season, but when it comes to All-Star festivities, creativity is just as important as talent.

Whether it be in a dunk contest or skills challenge, it's up to the players to find a way to stand out. The best way to do so? Include fire.

Former NHL player Linus Omark kicked things up a notch at this year's KHL All-Star festivities by setting his stick on fire for a shootout attempt. Although his shot didn't find the back of the net, the showmanship won over everyone in the building. 

According to Sean Leahy of Puck Daddy, Omark won the shootout competition even though he missed both of his attempts. Because creativity like that deserves to be rewarded.

Last year, as noted by Puck Daddy's Greg Wyshynski, the Calgary Flames' Johnny Gaudreau wanted to light his stick on fire for the shootout competition at the 2015 NHL All-Star Skills Competition. His idea, however, was rejected.

Thanks to Omark, we finally got to see a flaming stick in action.

[KHL, h/t Puck Daddy]

Two years after the tragic plane crash that killed the entire Lokomotiv Yaroslavl team of the Kontinental Hockey League, investigators have determined that the flight crew was unlawfully permitted to operate an aircraft.

Dmitry Chesnokov of Yahoo Sports shared a statement from the official spokesman of the Investigations Committee, Vladimir Markov:

The flight crew was unlawfully sanctioned to fly by (Vadim) Timofeyev in violation of air transportation operations, and at the time of the flight it didn’t have the authorization to fly independently. In particular, the captain of the plane was cleared to fly by Timofeyev based on falsified documentation; the second pilot at the time had not yet completed his retraining for the type of aircraft Yak-42 was, and did not have the authority to fly.

Per Chesnokov:

Investigators performed forensic analysis of all evidence, interviewed hundreds of witnesses of the crash, spoke to the relatives of players and coaches and employees of Yak Service airline that was responsible for the flight. Following the investigation, only one person will be criminally charged as a result of the crash—the former deputy general director of Yak Service airline Vadim Timofeyev. Working at the airline he was responsible for flight operations. The prosecutors are charging Timofeyev with criminal negligence related to safety and operation of a plane. 

According to that report, Timofeyev faces up to seven years in prison if found guilty.

Forty-four people lost their lives when the Yak-42 jet crashed on September 7, 2011, including players, team staff and the flight crew. The team was traveling to Minsk, the capital of Belarus, to face Dinamo Minsk in the opening game of the KHL season.

Just one passenger, airline mechanic Alexander Sizov, survived the crash. Eight former NHL players and coach Brad McCrimmon—who both coached and played in the NHL—were lost in the tragedy.

According to an ESPN report at the time, the plane struggled to gain altitude, hit a tower and crashed into the Volga River. Per that report, Rene Fasel, president of the International Ice Hockey Federation, called the incident "the darkest day in the history of our sport."

He added, "This is not only a Russian tragedy—the Lokomotiv roster included players and coaches from 10 nations."

The Investigations Committee's findings are a dark conclusion to one of the most somber days in hockey history. The fact that documents were falsified for the captain and the co-pilot was not properly trained to operate the plane is a disturbing twist and a haunting reminder that the incident could have been avoided altogether.

One would guess this story is far from a conclusion, with both Timofeyev facing negligence charges and the families of the victims likely to take whatever legal recourse is offered to them. The KHL and other sporting leagues around the world will likely now carefully evaluate any plane-chartering services they employ in the wake of these findings.

Valeri Nichushkin has seen his 2013 NHL draft stock rise considerably since burying Canada with this overtime marker to help Russia win the bronze medal in the most recent World Junior Championships. Since then, the lanky center/left winger has garnered considerable attention for his combination of NHL-ready size, good speed and his ability to drive to the net and score dirty goals.

One needs to look no further than the bronze-clinching goal to see why scouts are watering at the mouth over this prospect.

Standing at 6'4'' and already weighing close to 200 pounds as an 18-year-old, he could possibly top out around 225, giving him bona fide power forward size. While some youngsters aren't quite sure how to use their size and strength, Nichushkin uses his big body to protect the puck and drive to the net on a nightly basis.

When he isn't getting to the dirty areas and scoring goals, he is using his considerable speed and hands to open up space for those lining up alongside him. Nichushkin also has excellent vision and can find open players with the best of the 2013 crop of prospects.

Roll all of this into a package and you have one of the most coveted players in the this year's draft. Nichushkin has drawn comparisons to players like Jordan Staal due to his ability to make use of his size and vision. Coveted, indeed.

Since his showing in the WJC, Nichushkin has surpassed better known names such as Jonathan Drouin and Nathan MacKinnon in the ISS rankings, landing at the No. 2 spot as the second-best prospect available in the 2013 draft.

By all accounts, MacKinnon and Drouin haven't slid a bit due to bad play. The shift in rankings is, rather, a reflection of and testament to Nichushkin's outstanding play over the last few months. He's looked even more dominating than the Halifax Moosehead duo, which is saying a lot, as MacKinnon has been one of the top prospects for this draft class over the last two or three years.

Nichushkin is the clear-cut best Russian available in the draft and could cause a bit of a shakeup in the top five in June if he continues to play like he is right now. If a team is looking for a forward instead of a defender, this is the guy that teams could pass on Seth Jones for.

Nathan MacKinnon is considered the best player available by most because of his elite hockey sense and high ceiling. However, if a team like the Edmonton Oilers—a team that already has considerable talent up front but is lacking in size—ends up selecting first overall, it wouldn't shock me to see Nichushkin selected there.

2013 is one of the most interesting drafts in recent memory, as there are dominant players at all three forward positions and on the blue line. Teams will be able to draft by need, and you'll have to look far and wide for a team GM who doesn't say that he'd like to get a bit bigger and more talented at forward.

With his tantalizing mix of speed, skill and size, Nichushkin has cemented himself as one of the players to watch as we approach the draft this summer.

The KHL All-Star Game was hardly want of goals, but this one clearly tops each one, and it might possibly be the slickest penalty goal we can remember seeing. 

A tip of the hat to Yahoo! Sports, who spotted the moment Jori Lehtera went for brains over brawn in his penalty shot. 

As the report issues, there were 29 combined goals between the two teams who took the ice in Chelyabinsk on Sunday, but only one was clearly viral-video-worthy. 

Lehtera, who was a 2008 draft pick of the St. Louis Blues and who currently plays for Sibir Novosibirsk, goes one-on-one with goalie Rastislav Staňa. 

What you would expect is for Lehtera to smack a shot deep into the net or bank it off the looming goalie's padding. 

Either would have been entertaining. 

Instead, he decided to fake a shot and let the puck travel the rest of the way on its own accord.

We agree with the Yahoo! Sports report that the goalie may have been fine with lazily defending the shot, happy to see it go through in an exhibition match. However, it seems like the move really did work wonders to fake out Staňa and everyone else watching the penalty shot. 

While we eagerly await the start of NHL business, this shot should keep us nice and satiated until then. 

Hit me up on Twitter for more silly shenanigans. 

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The end of summer just isn't the same without the NHL. 

So far, the NHL has reportedly lost north of $230 million in revenue due to this year's lockout, forcing hockey fans to watch their favorite NHL stars flee the continent to the extremely underrated Kontinental Hockey League. 

The KHL is home to 26 clubs that play all over Eastern Europe. 

Sure, their culture and language is completely different from your normal NHL crowd, but the final goal is to hear the sound of skates on ice and pucks sniping the pipes.   

We all miss hockey terribly, so here is a brief guide on where to find your favorite NHL superstars in Europe this season:

Complete team rosters and schedules can be found on the English-friendly KHL website. 

This afternoon, ESPN2 will broadcast its first-ever Kontinental Hockey League game as Dynamo Moscow faces off with HC Lev Praha in a matchup that pits one of hockey's most notable European forwards, Alex Ovechkin, against its top European defenseman in Zdeno Chara.

The 1 p.m. broadcast will feature a little slice of hockey's past, as fans will get to hear ESPN's Steve Levy call play-by-play for professional hockey for the first time since the 2004 Stanley Cup playoffs. Levy will be joined by Barry Melrose, ESPN's go-to analyst for all things hockey (source: ESPN).

Before the 2004-05 lockout that led to the end of the NHL's relationship with ESPN, Levy was a major contributor to NHL 2Night as well as nationally broadcast hockey games. Since the NHL was taken off of ESPN and relegated to the then-Outdoor Life Network (now NBC Sports Network), Levy has been one of the few ESPN anchors to continue to acknowledge and support hockey as best he can, a burden he bears with ESPN vets John Buccigross and Linda Cohn.

Today's game will feature an element of nostalgia for fans who grew up watching hockey on ESPN during the '90s and early '00s, but the real story of the broadcast is about the future, not the past.

Likely jumping on the opportunity to get a cut of the pro hockey pie, ESPN negotiated a broadcasting deal with the KHL (via Boston.com), which is the most significant active pro hockey league for as long as the NHL lockout lasts.

Most of the games will be available via streaming through ESPN3.com, but today's ESPN2 broadcast could be an experiment in testing national interest in the Russian-based hockey league. Committed hockey fans may be interested in following their teams' star players, and thus small but significant numbers of viewers in Washington, D.C., Boston and beyond could tune into this afternoon's contest.

ESPN's timing is not based solely on the NHL lockout and notable names playing overseas. As international sports become more accessible via the Internet and the expansion of television, there is a noteworthy possibility that the KHL could generate genuine interest among passionate, albeit small groups of hockey fans.

Lovers of the sport could conceivably find themselves following the NHL and KHL simultaneously when both are active, as long as overseas games are reasonably accessible.

Soccer in the United States has benefited as much (or more) from the availability of the English Premier League on American television as it has from the presence of the U.S.'s own Major League Soccer. This Yahoo! Sports article reported that the final day of this past EPL season was watched by a staggering 1.35 million Americans.

Sports fans no longer look for their game in their own backyard. In the digital age, high-quality contests and exciting players can be watched from around the globe, and ESPN may be onto something by broadcasting the fast-growing Russian league.

Today's significant broadcast will bridge the nostalgic past of hockey in the United States to its future around the world.

Dan Kelley has been a Bleacher Report Featured Columnist since 2011. Follow him on Twitter: @dxkelley

Follow @dxkelley

The lockout is approaching three weeks now, and we are just under a week away from what was going to be the start of the regular season. The two sides have yet to make any real movement in getting a deal done, and for fans, it looks like the lockout will be lasting a while.

For St. Louis Blues fans, this could mean no Vladimir Tarasenko.

The Blues drafted Tarasenko with the 16th overall pick in the 2010 draft. The coveted Blues prospect has spent his past two years playing in the KHL, while the Blues have been trying to get him to jump ship to the NHL. After these two years of waiting, the Blues got Tarasenko to sign a three-year, entry-level contract.

Tarasenko was brought to St. Louis and was practicing with the team. Then, the NHL locked out. 

At first, it seemed as if Tarasenko was not going back to Russia, as he and SKA ST. Petersburg could not reach an agreement. But, the two hashed out an agreement, and Tarasenko was on the next flight to Russia. 

It would make sense for Tarasenko to go back to Russia, because that is where he has been the past four years of his career and where he has seen success. It is where his friends and family are, and he doesn't need to get accustomed like he would if he were in America. 

And now with the exodus of NHL stars to Europe, he is playing against NHL-level talent.

So far, in the 2012-2013 season, Tarasenko already has four goals in three games, on only eight shots, making his shooting percentage 50 percent. He's playing on a line with Ilya Kovalchuk, who has seven points in four games, including six assists. The two have become leaders on the SKA team, and have the team in seventh place and a plus-12 goal differential. 

With the success Tarasenko is already having the KHL, along with playing with NHL talent, he may not want to come back to the NHL. If he can compete now, what is to say that when the NHLers go back to the NHL, he doesn't become the best player in the KHL? 

Tarsenko is already proving that he is exactly what the Blues need to make the final push to becoming Stanley Cup contenders and they are just left to wonder if he will ever be coming back.