KHL

Hockey is back in North America, it's just not happening in North America.

In order to capitalize on the NHL lockout and perhaps provide some relief for desperate hockey fans this fall, ESPN and the Kontinental Hockey League have reached an agreement to broadcast live KHL games on ESPN3.

Fans won't have to wait for the players and owners to agree to a new CBA before they can watch stars like Alex Ovechkin and Evgeni Malkin go head-to-head on the ice. 

Although it's not the NHL fans have come to know and love, the KHL is every bit as competitive and thrilling as North America's product. 

Here are the five matchups that will be broadcast on ESPN 3 over the next few days (via KHL.com):

*All games can be seen on ESPN3.com.

Plenty of Ovie, Goals

Washington Capitals fans should be jumping for joy this fall. Three of the five KHL games being broadcast this week will feature Dynamo Moscow, the club Alex Ovechkin is playing for during the lockout.

The physical winger is a goal scoring machine and one of the funnest players to watch. Although sometimes the entertainment has come at a defensive cost to the Capitals, it's nonetheless must-see television.

Ovie scored 38 goals last season with Washington and has scored nearly 340 over seven seasons in DC.

What It Means for the NHL

Though the current NHL lockout has shown no signs of ending, the recent agreement between the KHL and ESPN is sure to shake things up a bit among the owners and commissioner Gary Bettman. 

This isn't soccer where the Premier League is broadcast in North America because of sheer popularity, this is ice hockey. The best players belong in the NHL, nowhere else. The NHL should be embarrassed by what's happening now. Not only has the KHL temporarily taken its players, but now it's after its fans.

Soon enough, both sides will realize that they're losing money, damaging their brand and alienating fans. It's just a shame that it hasn't hit them quicker. 

Follow Bleacher Report Featured Columnist Patrick Clarke on Twitter for more slap shots and power plays.

Sidney Crosby is considered the best hockey player in the world. 

While his teammate (and friend) Evgeni Malkin would be next in line, the dominance of Crosby throughout his career is simply astounding. 

Recent reports have suggested that Crosby could be on his way to play with Malkin in the KHL. 

If Crosby were to play in the KHL, it would be almost unfair. 

The 'almost' is simply being nice about it. Let the statistical explanation begin. 

Crosby is a career 1.403 points-per-game player, just behind names like Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux and Mike Bossy.

Not to mention, his career average tops those of Bobby Orr and Peter Forsberg. 

The only active players that come close to him are Malkin, Jaromir Jagr and Alex Ovechkin, in that order.

Still not convinced?

Let's consider the KHL.

The most dominant player—the Sidney Crosby of Russia—is Alexander Radulov.

In 54 games played, Radulov currently holds the record for most assists and points in a regular season with 60 and 80 respectively, which is a point-per-game average of 1.481.  

Crosby's best NHL season?

In 2006-07, he had 79 games played with 84 assists and 120 points, a point-per-game average of about 1.52. 

His best season tops anyone who has ever played in the KHL, and it is in a more competitive league: the NHL. 

Still not convinced?

Radulov has taken his chances in the NHL, playing 154 games and scoring a total of 102 points, a career point-per-game average of 0.67.

That's just making it too easy. 

To all the nay-sayers regarding Crosby's health: In his most recent NHL season, Crosby played 22 games and scored 37 points—a point-per-game pace of 1.68.

On average, it was the best he's ever done in the NHL. 

Now you'd better be convinced.

As for goals, that might be the only challenge for Crosby—statistically at least.

The KHL record is 35 goals in 56 games, an average of about 0.63 goals-per-game. Crosby's best is the same, which he did back in 2009-10 with 51 goals in 81 games.  

If the NHL is considered to be home to the best hockey talent in the world, Crosby could be in for a treat if he chooses to play in Russia (especially with his buddy Malkin). 

While threats from the NHL are making their way over to the KHL—like Evgeni Malkin and Alex Ovechkin—Crosby has already dominated them statistically.

Now, we just wait on Sid the Kid's decision. 

KHL fans: hope you like Canadians. This one could potentially hold all your scoring records in just one season of play. 

The former San Jose Sharks goaltender has been released from his KHL club, SKA St. Petersburg, with the club citing "family circumstances."

However, many are speculating that those family circumstances are just a nice, PR-friendly way of saying that their dreams of him returning to true form have been shattered.

After all, in Russia he was making a whopping $6 million, and has picked up an 8-8-5 record, a save percentage of just .888 and a goals against average over three.

But now that Nabokov is unemployed again, it is possible that the 35-year-old could return to the NHL.

Will any teams be looking at the Russian netminder who over his NHL career has almost 300 wins, a 2.39 GAA and a save percentage of .912? I'd say there are a few teams who wouldn't mind grabbing him.

The first team that comes to mind are the Blackhawks, who lost Antti Niemi to (of all teams) the Sharks this offseason. Starting goalie Marty Turco has been inconsistent over his career with Dallas, and has already been shaky at times this season. Nabokov could come in as a backup and take over should Turco fall into any bad spells like he has in the past.

Another team that has to be considered is the Tampa Bay Lightning. Despite already having two goalies in Mike Smith and Dan Ellis, neither one has any real experience as a starter, nor any real playoff experience. If the Lightning are to be a serious contender, a veteran goalie might be just what they need.

What about Ottawa? With Pascal Leclaire injured again, the Sens are down to just one goalie, who only has one real season under his belt. Depending on the length of Leclaire's injury, if I'm the Sens I might consider making an offer to Nabby to serve as a backup for the rest of the year, in case anything should happen to Elliott.

However, if things don't turn around for the team they may want to look elsewhere for a younger goalie to develop in Binghamton instead of bringing in an old guy like Nabokov.

Sticking in Canada, the Calgary Flames could be another destination for Nabokov. With an inexperienced backup, Nabokov could team up with Kiprusoff, who he played with years ago, and act as a backup for the struggling Flames team.

Lastly, I could see the Thrashers expressing an interest in him. Though they have Mason and Pavelec, there must still be some concern over Pavelec's health from when he fainted earlier this season. Nabokov could be a short-term solution while the team evaluates whether Pavelec will be able to be a full-time NHL goalie again this year.

No matter where Nabokov goes, if anywhere, it seems pretty obvious that wherever he ends up it will be in a backup role, and he definitely won't be making the same amount of money that he has in the past or he did in Russia.

For now, though, we'll just have to speculate while we wait and see if anyone approaches the goalie for his services.

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Sergei Bobrovsky.  While you may not know the name now, I promise that you will by the end of this article and will remember it for a long time.  He is supposed to be the next great goaltender of the Philadelphia Flyers.  Bobrovsky is hoping to fly in lineage with the likes of Bernie Parent, Pelle Lindbergh, and Ron Hextall.  

The Flyers may not have to wonder who their goalie is for much longer with “Bob” sweeping through town.  The “Bob” Phenomenon will take the city of Philadelphia by storm very soo. Providing them with a top-flight goaltender for the first time in a long time.  

The young Russian prospect, with the right guidance, will be a star in this league for many years. Under the tutelage of Flyers’ Goalie Coach Jeff Reese, among others, Bobrovsky will flourish.  Reese has already done wonders in rejuvenating Michael Leighton. This paid off last season.

Bobrovsky presents a different type of net minder than the ordinary ones Flyer fans have seen. The mediocrity of guys like Robert Esche, Sean Burke, and countless others, was solid enough, but ultimately they could never deliver a  Stanley Cup.  Leighton nearly did it, but he too proved to be nothing more than a goalie who rode a hot-streak. Leighton is a good goalie at best, nothing more, nothing less.  Bobrovsky appears to be the long-term answer for Philadelphia.  This is new to Philadelphia.

The KHL was a good preparatory program for the young Russian. There’s a certain launching pad the KHL represents that comes with much promise. The promise of one day playing in the NHL. His story is even more impressive when considering the KHL  puts out more scorers than anything else. 

With Michael Leighton out for at least a month, Bobrovsky might make the opening night roster backing up veteran Brian Boucher.  Bobrovsky or Swede Johan Backlund should get the duty of back-up goalie. Either way, don’t expect Bobrovsky to take a backseat for much longer. He will be the starter one day very soon.  

Bobrovsky provides a great sense of poise even at the age of 22. He'll continue to grow.  While there is room for improvement, most of his mechanics are solid. His natural goal tending instincts are there.  He will be a gem for the Flyers. Credit GM Paul Holmgren with a sensational find out of Russia.  

It’s no wonder the Flyers spent no off-season money on goaltending. Bobrovsky has shown them much in a short period of time. He will likely take the reins after Leighton’s contract is up. Who knows? Maybe even sooner.    

  Last week we reported that Jaromir Jagr looked like he was on the verge of signing a two-year contract to stay with Avangard Omsk, but could not confirm it. Today we are hearing, via Laurie at Beyond the Blueshirts , that there is indeed a deal in place ,although there are still contract details to be worked out.

“Jagr will be on our team next year,” Bardin explained. “That is absolutely accurate. The details will become known before the beginning of the season.”

If it is indeed a two-year contract it probably means that Jagr, now 38, is done with the Rangers and the NHL for good. This isn’t exactly shocking news as it did appear that his NHL days were done when he initially left the league for Europe, but at this point there is very little room for any sort of return.

As recently as this past February, during the Olympics, Jagr said he was still mulling over a return to the NHL. A devastating hit by Alex Ovechkin might have changed things though. Here is the video:

Even after the hit Jagr said he would still be able to handle the NHL, but he disappeared for the remainder of the Olympics. Since then Jagr has probably come to the realization that even though he may talk a big game and still has the ability to handle the puck at this point, his body is probably too old to handle the rigors and physicality of daily NHL life.

Once contract details come out we will update you.

Goodbye Jaromir Jagr, your mullet and Hitler-stash will never be forgotten.

Related Stories

• April 23, 2010 -- Unconfirmed Rumor: Jagr Resigns with Omsk (0)
• April 21, 2010 -- Jaromir Jagr Rumor (2)

So much for his triumphant return to the NHL.

The Russian website Sport-Planet.ru is reporting that former Ranger Jaromir Jagr has resigned with Avangard Omsk of the KHL on a two-year contract. However, when Dmitry Chesnokov at Puck Daddy tried to confirm this report he was unsuccessful.

Later on Chesnokov tweeted : “Omsk’s GM said it was too early to talk about Jagr re-signing with Avangard, but the club would want to do it before the Worlds.”

So while it does not appear that this rumor is true, it may be that the two sides are working on an agreement or even have an agreement in place in principal and are still negotiating over numbers.

With Worlds coming up in just about a week this could be something that materializes fast. Omsk’s GM seems to want to get a deal done quickly and if Jagr is going to participate in the games it’ll be in his interest to get this done quickly as well. Otherwise he could put himself at risk of getting injured which could force him to accept less money or leave him with no offers at all.

If Jagr does want to play in the NHL then I would expect him to sit out Worlds. Unless he is looking to resign with the Rangers, doubtful, any return to the NHL would not take place before the Worlds tournament because a lot of NHL teams are still in the playoffs.

So we’ll keep an eye on Jagr and his negotiations with Omsk and his participation in Worlds. Right now I wouldn’t believe any reports that are out there. Not yet anyways, we’ll keep you posted.

Related Stories

• April 21, 2010 -- Jaromir Jagr Rumor (2)

Rangers forward Olli Jokinen picked up a goal in today’s 5-1 Finland victory over Belarus. More importantly, the one-sided games continue here in the Men’s Hockey Tournament as the closest game so far has been USA’s 3-1 win against Switzerland. Even so, the United States had control over the game for two out of the three periods.

Just to prove to you what I am getting at here, check out all of the scores in the tournament so far below.

USA 3 - SUI 1
CAN 8 - NOR 0
RUS 8 - LAT 2
FIN 5 - BEL 1

The first somewhat equal match-up will come later tonight when Jaromir Jagr and the Czechs take on Team Slovakia.Both of those teams have a fair amount of NHL caliber players and are not teams that are mostly comprised of players from the KHL.

And as a side note about that game, there is a chance Marian Gaborik may play. It is not for certain, but contrasting the news I let readers know about earlier today, the buzz is that he may play.

Anyway, what is the point of even having teams like Norway or Latvia in this tournament if they are going to lose each game and get pounded by some superior clubs along the way?

It is not fair to the players, and most of all, it is not fair to the fans. These Canadian fans have waited four years since being able to see their country boys compete in a tournament and when they finally do, it is against Norway? That is just poor planning and scheduling.

These lopsided scores are also just another indication that the skill level in the Kontinental League is nowhere near that of the NHL. The theory that the KHL is competing with the National Hockey League is foolish plain and simple, and the 8-0 and 5-1 scores are just further proving that argument. Belarus, which is mostly a KHL team, was outshot 45-12 this afternoon.

Going back to Jokinen for a second, the Finnish center played very well this afternoon. His skating was excellent, his chemistry with his linemates was clear, and you can tell that these guys all get along and know each other both on and off the ice.

I think Finland has a solid team that, if they played the best possible hockey that they can, could capture a Bronze Medal in the tournament. It is not likely, but surely possible.

Well, I guess we will just see what comes of the Sweden game which I will be leaving the hotel to attend shortly. Don’t be surprised to see yet another lopsided score. To read more about this game, check out my Pregame Preview in the below post .
(Photo courtesy of Getty Images)

After a short break for the annual Karjala Cup in Finland, the KHL has resumed play. After 20 games of a season, a better picture of who the top teams will be comes into clearer focus. So let's check out the rankings.

(All records are as of 11/12/2009)

The Elite

Salavat Yulaev Ufa (16-3-3, first-Chernyshev)

Last Five: 5-0-0

Salavat Yulaev is absolutely on fire under Russian national coach Vyacheslav Bykov and have been scoring goals at will. They are the definition of an offensive juggernaut. In their last five outings, they have registed victories of 6-0, 6-1, and 7-1, with two of those coming away from home.

They fitting lead the league by a mile in goals scored with 86, but maybe more impressively, every player on the roster has a positive plus/minus. Alexander Radulov leads the pack with 11 goals, 26 points and has a plus-13 in 20 games.

Metallurg Magnitogorsk (18-3-0, first-Kharlamov)

Last Five: 5-0-0

As nearly complete opposites as their foes from Ufa, Magnitogorsk wins with superb goaltending and defense, quite a difficult feat in an very offensive-oriented league. But they only allow 1.71 goals per game and have four shutouts already, thanks to the stellar play of 22-year-old netminder Ilya Proskuryakov.

They will be happy to lull a team to sleep, but don't be fooled. They can play offense too. With the brothers Fedorov and a motivated Stanislav Chistov, the Steelers' depth is unmatched anywhere. Every skater has registered at least a point.

The Very Good, But Have Some Work to Do

SKA St. Petersburg (16-5-2, first-Bobrov)

Last Five: 3-1-1

Barry Smith's squad has shown flashes of true brilliance, but haven't been able to continually play at a very high level. After failing a test against Salavat Yulaev, they lost a pair of very winnable games, including a dismal 4-1 defeat to Dinamo Riga.

But with a host of NHL veterans, including Sergei Zubov, Sergei Brylin, Alexei Yashin, and Petr Cajanek, this team has all the talent of an elite team.

Goalie Robert Esche has been nothing short of impressive as well and has dreams of receiving an invite to the U.S. Olympic Team.

The Plucky Combatants

Avangard Omsk (12-5-4, second-Chernyshev)

Last Five: 2-1-2

The Vanguard have been living and dying by the shootout in their recent games, as they can't seem to be able to close games out in regulation time. Jaromir Jagr has been scoring, but a true secondary option hasn't stepped up to relieve the Czech veteran. They have looked like a great team with Anton Babchuk patrolling the back line, except he has missed a few games along the line.

Former Tampa Bay Lightning netminder Kari Ramo has done a fine job, but has been feeling the heat recently from upstart 27-year-old Evgeny Tsaregorodtsev.

Lokomotiv Yaroslavl (13-6-3, first-Tarasov)

Last Five: 4-0-1

Yaroslavl established themselves early that they were a team that can score with anyone in the league, and they don't care how many they allow. This team is never out of a game. Fueled by Sergei Konkov, who just can't stop scoring with three multi-goal games all coming away from home, the Lokomotive just keeps rolling. 

Their only blemish in the last five was an overtime loss at Magnitogorsk.

Dinamo Moscow (12-7-2, second-Bobrov)

Last Five: 4-1-0

A beneficiary of a friendly home stand, Dinamo won four straight games at the Minor Arena. Although it finished with a sour 5-1 defeat to Dynamo Minsk, they did pick up points against SKA and Metallurg.

Mattias Weinhandl has 13 goals to pace a hard-working team. But they just don't appear to have the weapons to keep pace with SKA in the division.

The Talented But in Need of Help

Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk (12-8-2, second-Kharlamov)

Last Five: 3-2-0

The Petrochemists from Tartarstan have been a true revelation. But they need some help. They have been involved in a number of wild shootouts recently, as nearly every other game they are allowing or scoring six goals.

Their main problem isn't getting points from weaker opponents. It's their inability to do much against the league's best that holds them back.

Barys Astana (11-6-5, third-Chernyshev)

Last Five: 3-1-1

They've abused some lower level teams and not had so much fun against upper-level competition. But the Kazakhs, only in their second season playing in Russia, find themselves competing in possibly the most offensive-minded division in hockey. Coming up next for Andrey Shayanov's men is Metallurg Magnitogorsk.

The Kontinental Hockey League, or KHL for short, is the Russian equivalent, and attempted rival, to the National Hockey League.  Formed in 2008, and made up almost entirely of teams from the Russian Superleague, the KHL is enjoying some modest success in its native land, attracting a pretty solid television deal, partly thanks to its tactic of luring away current NHL players (and accepting those, a la Chris Simon, who fell from grace in an NHL uniform).

All of this sounds like a recipe for success, save for the fact that the league, which pay large contracts comparable to or exceeding what many of these players would make in the NHL, have chosen to skimp in the one area where any sports league cannot afford to:  player safety.

The KHL is simply under equipped to deal with serious injuries; for a league looking to gain worldwide attention, this is simply inexcusable.

The most "notable" occurrence came last season, in 2008, when NHL prospect Alexei Cherepanov, a forward for Avangard Omsk, collapsed on the bench during a contest against Vityaz Chekhov.  What ensued would qualify as a comedy of errors were it not so tragic:  The ambulance, which was reportedly normally at all games, left early, and had to be called back to the scene; a defibrillator that team doctors used in an attempt to resuscitate the player was drained of battery power, and proved completely useless.  By the time doctors finally did arrive, a full 12 minutes had passed.  By the time he arrived at the hospital, it was a full twenty.

Once in the care of a medical staff, he was briefly resuscitated twice before ultimately passing; he was only nineteen years old.

Following this disaster, the KHL vowed to improve each team's medical staff, including providing them with additional training in an attempt to avert another disaster such as this one. 

It has not taken long for another display of medical negligence to rear its ugly head, though arguably this could be considered "less tragic" simply for the reason that the player involved did not die.

On September 22nd, 2009, Martin Kariya, younger brother of St. Louis Blues forward Paul Kariya, and a forward himself for Dinamo Riga in the KHL, was checked from behind during a game, and through a mix of unfortunate circumstances and some bad luck (his legs came out from under him, vaulting him into the air), the 27-year-old landed vertically on his head.  While team trainers arrived to the scene within thirty seconds of the incident, they were not properly equipped to handle the situation (with a stretcher), instead being forced to use a flimsy board that did nothing to protect his head (at one point, the six players that were carrying him even had to lift him up and over the boards, jerking his neck around even more).

Kariya, who thankfully "only" suffered a concussion (as opposed to a broken neck, which clearly would have killed him), is out indefinitely, with concussion-like symptoms that refuse to go away.  Hmm...could the handling of the situation at the hand's of the team's medical staff have anything to do with it?

The fact that the KHL is attempting to become the next great hockey league, and even luring current NHL players away from North America, becomes such a depressingly laughable situation when it can't even protect the players that it currently has.  The fact that league expansion and player salaries come well ahead of player safety is a greedy, despicable act, one that will ultimately stop them from achieving their goals if not addressed immediately.

Of course now the league is once again saying it will review the methods in which injured players are taken off the ice, but isn't this a process that should have been well in place before it ever happened?  After all, they could have foreseen the number of injuries they could expect just from watching a few NHL games on any given week.

How many more players have to suffer serious injuries, or even die, before the KHL stops treating player safety as merely a joke, and actually takes steps to deter such on-ice incidents from happening?