Nashville Predators forward Alex Radulov was one of six players who had a new contract suspended by hockey’s international governing body on Friday until the legality of the deals could be investigated.
Radulov, under contract for another season with the Predators, signed a contract with a Russian team in the new Continental Hockey League (KHL). That deal seemingly would be in breach of a pact agreed to on July 10 between the KHL, the NHL, the NHL Players’ Association (NHLPA) and international hockey leagues in which contracts worldwide would be honored and respected.
But the KHL contends the deal between Radulov and his KHL team was reached two days before the leagues agreed to obey existing contracts.
The International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) told the NHL, the NHLPA and the KHL that the international transfers of Radulov and five others are officially under investigation.
Nikita Filatov, Viktor Tikhonov, Jason Krog, Tomas Mojzis and Fedor Fedorov are also having their deals reviewed. All parties have until July 31 to submit documentation to the IIHF.
“We hope that this can be resolved amicably and in a timely manner,” IIHF president Rene Fasel said on Friday. “It is unfortunate that we are already facing such difficulties after the progress that was made last week. I am hoping that all sides can come to a solution.”
Problems arose owing to the lack of a transfer agreement between the NHL and KHL. A signing moratorium was established after representatives from the NHL, NHLPA, and IIHF met last week in Zurich, Switzerland, but the deal has yet to be signed.
The six players won’t be eligible to participate in international transfers and competitions while the investigation is ongoing.
Filatov was chosen by the Columbus Blue Jackets with the No. 6 pick in the first round of the June draft and recently agreed to terms on an entry-level NHL contract. Tikhonov, chosen No. 28 by Phoenix, came to terms with the Coyotes. Both players’ Russian teams say they already had deals in place. Krog, an NHL veteran, signed with Vancouver after he reportedly came to terms with a team in Russia. Mojzis, who played last season in Russia, has a new deal with the Minnesota Wild.
SEESAW CONTEST: The Pistons remain top of the Eastern Conference after battling to a win over the Hawks in a game that saw the lead change 27 times The Phoenix Suns on Monday shrugged off an injury to Devin Booker to end the Los Angeles Lakers’ seven-game winning streak with an emphatic 125-108 victory on the road. Booker exited in the first quarter, but the loss of the star point guard did little to halt the flow of Phoenix points over the remainder of the game. Dillon Brooks led the Phoenix scoring with 33 points, while Collin Gillespie added 28 — including eight three-pointers — as the Suns romped to victory. The Lakers were left ruing a colossal 22 turnovers — at a cost of 32 Suns points — on a
New Zealand yesterday reached 231-9 at stumps on a first day of the first Test against the West Indies shortened by rain after Justin Greaves triggered a middle-order collapse with the wicket of Kane Williamson. New Zealand tumbled from 94-1 to 148-6 on a bowler-friendly wicket after Williamson was dismissed for 52, his 38th Test half-century. Michael Bracewell and Nathan Smith arrested the slide with a 52-run stand for the seventh wicket. Smith eventually fell for 23 and Bracewell for 47. After Matt Henry went for 8, Zak Foulkes and Jacob Duffy were both on 4 when bad light stopped play after 70
Kylian Mbappe on Wednesday scored twice and had an assist as Real Madrid beat Athletic Bilbao 3-0 to end a three-match winless streak in La Liga. Eduardo Camavinga also found the net for Madrid as they moved back within one point of Barcelona, who beat Atletico Madrid 3-1 on Tuesday. Both 19th-round matches were moved forward because Real Madrid, Barcelona, Athletic Club and Atletico Madrid are to play in the Supercopa de Espana semi-finals in Saudi Arabia next month. Real Madrid were coming off league draws against Girona, Elche and Rayo Vallecano. It was their second win in their past six matches in
Robin Smith, the batter who shone for England in a period when it was beaten regularly in Test cricket, has died. He was 62. Smith’s family said in a statement from the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) that he died unexpectedly at his home in Perth, Australia, on Monday. No cause was given. He played 62 Tests for England from 1988 to 1996, scoring 4,236 runs at an average of 43.67 with nine centuries. His signature shot was the square cut. Smith also played in 71 one-day internationals and was part of England’s squad who reached the 1992 ICC World Cup final. His unbeaten
RSS