The SKA coach should be fired. You'd think he would had changed his plan in this desperate time. Nope. Vlad gets 12 minutes. Thoresen gets 20.
Fans should be pissed.
Man, it's hard to give up on players who drove your team to the top. But yeah, that's the coach's job. One of a sad moment, you can't be a great coach with out.
Yeah, it's obvious now who is who. That's why I fear that SKA will make him an offer he won't be able to reject. On the other hand there will be a hard salary cap next season in the KHL. It's gonna be pretty high though ($40M or like, as I've heard).
I did not watch todays game (very much enjoying sleep), however a 40 mil cap is high? In the NHL the Cap is at or near 63-64 million. I am very, very, very curious to see if Vova is going to go for the big payday (His ELC will make around 1 - 1.5 MM per year for 3 years i think), or does he want to play in the best league in the world. Obviously I do hope it's the latter, he will be a start in St. Louis, and may become a superstar in the states.
I did not watch todays game (very much enjoying sleep), however a 40 mil cap is high? In the NHL the Cap is at or near 63-64 million. I am very, very, very curious to see if Vova is going to go for the big payday (His ELC will make around 1 - 1.5 MM per year for 3 years i think), or does he want to play in the best league in the world. Obviously I do hope it's the latter, he will be a start in St. Louis, and may become a superstar in the states.
All player salaries in Russia are tax free. So KHL 40 mil is equial to NHL ~70-75 mil.
His salary + signing bonus will be 990K for the first three years. But he will also have player bonuses. Here's the list of possible player A bonuses he and the Blues can agree to, each one being $212,500 a pop:
– Ice time, being among top 6 (42 game minimum):
– 20 goals
– 35 assists
– 60 points
– .73 PPG (42 game minimum)
– among top 3 Blues forwards in +/- (42 game minimum)
– make NHL All-Rookie Team
– make NHL All-Star Game
– NHL All-Star MVP
If Tarasenko were to hit any of these (the ones that have been agreed to as bonuses), the Blues pay him themselves. At the start of the season all the total amounts count against the cap, and at the end of the season the ones he didn't hit get credited back (cap-wise) to the club. They don't have to agree on all of them, and the total amount he can earn in A bonuses is 850K. That means they could just stick to four of them for 212,500 each, such as 20 goals, 35 assists, 60 points and .73PPG or the ice time one. So if he gets no B bonuses but hits all the A bonuses each year on his ELC that's 1.84M cash per season.
Then there are league-paid B bonuses, although the Blues can agree to add more $$ on top of what the league pays, if he were to win end-of year awards and/or finish in the NHL's top 10 in scoring stats categories. The Blues can augment the league bonuses by up to $2M/year themselves. Awards include the Hart, Selke, Art Ross, Lady Byng, Conn Smythe, etc. The one that's most likely is the Calder in his first year (than winning the Hart in any of his first three years, for example).
The NHL also gives out cash to ELC-forwards who finish in the top 10 in the NHL in goals, assists, points, and PPG (42 minimum games played). So let's say the Blues and Tarasenko agreed if his goals were top 10 in the league any of his entry years, he gets a 500K bonus. If he finishes 7th in goals one year, the NHL gives him 70K and the Blues give him 500K. They could put all 2M on just goals but then if he were somehow top 10 in PPG but not goals and the Blues put all 2M on goals, all he'd get would be the league's bonus (much less), so they together have to figure out what makes the most sense. And also all the awards like the Calder and Conn Smythe etc. are part of the 2M. So the first year all 2M could be Calder, the second year they could do stuff with goals/points. But he'd have to win those awards/hit that very high threshold. The A bonuses would be easier to hit.
SKA can pay him certainly more guaranteed money, but they can't put SKA in the NHL, where the top players play. All the comments and signals lately seem to have confirmed what we've been saying all year, that he's coming over and his mind is long made up, even knowing obviously by now SKA will offer him more than the Blues can pay.
The coach has to take the blame for the collapse. They had meaningless games towards the end of the season, and they should have experimented with the lines and tried to find other players that worked together. He didn't, and as a result, there is now no real back-up plan for when they hit a rough patch.
Anyway, I missed todays game unfortunately, but nice to see him hitting the net. Goal is 2:55 into the video.
Quote:
Originally Posted by steap
All player salaries in Russia are tax free. So KHL 40 mil is equial to NHL ~70-75 mil.
Are they still tax free? I thought Dmitry Medvedev had the laws changed in the past couple of years so that sports stars were now also paying the 13% flat rate.
Either way, your point stands; if a player earns $4m in Russia, he is getting a lot more money in his pocket than if he was earning $4m in the United States.
If Tarasenko is basing his decision on money, we can't compete.
Are they still tax free? I thought Dmitry Medvedev had the laws changed in the past couple of years so that sports stars were now also paying the 13% flat rate.
Either way, your point stands; if a player earns $4m in Russia, he is getting a lot more money in his pocket than if he was earning $4m in the United States.
If Tarasenko is basing his decision on money, we can't compete.
Not sure if salaries are still tax free, but even 13% tax is much lower than NA ones. And anyway, say, 4M is out of options for Blues, while SKA can easily offer him that much. But there is another problem. It looks like lockout is imminent, and nobody can say right now how long it'll last and will there the next season be at all. So SKA can sign him at least for the coming season. With a strict stipulation that he can't leave the team in the middle of the year, even if NHL regular will get started.
Not sure if salaries are still tax free, but even 13% tax is much lower than NA ones. And anyway, say, 4M is out of options for Blues, while SKA can offer him that much. But there is another problem. It looks like lockout is imminent, and nobody can say right now how long it'll last and will there the next season be at all. So SKA can sign him at least for the coming season. With a strict stipulation that he can't leave the team in the middle of the year, even if NHL regular will get started.
The lockout is no more imminent than it was a year ago. I am sure it is being hyped up in Russia more as a way of putting pressure on a guy like Tarasenko but CBA negotiations haven't even really started yet, so that kind of talk is propaganda.
The lay of the land hasn't changed. He can sign the ELC and if there's a lockout, I am sure SKA will be happy to pay him to play there for a year. The short term noney is better in the KHL, the long term money is better in the NHL. If the kid's about getting the most money immediately then he'll stay because the Blues can't compete with SKA in the short run. But the KHL can't now or ever compete with the NHL for quality and he knows that too. His playoff performance shows yet again how he steps up in the clutch.
The lockout is no more imminent than it was a year ago. I am sure it is being hyped up in Russia more as a way of putting pressure on a guy like Tarasenko but CBA negotiations haven't even really started yet, so that kind of talk is propaganda.
The lay of the land hasn't changed. He can sign the ELC and if there's a lockout, I am sure SKA will be happy to pay him to play there for a year. The short term noney is better in the KHL, the long term money is better in the NHL. If the kid's about getting the most money immediately then he'll stay because the Blues can't compete with SKA in the short run. But the KHL can't now or ever compete with the NHL for quality and he knows that too. His playoff performance shows yet again how he steps up in the clutch.
Actually nobody in Russia cares of lockout (aside from fans like me who like NHL more than KHL). I can't say the same about people in NA. That's just another fresh topic about http://hfboards.hockeysfuture.com/sh....php?t=1132693
But yes, we can't change the things, so let's see what way they will go...
The only quotes I've ever seen from Tarasenko regarding this topic are translated interviews with papers in Russia where he continues to say things like, "Playing in the NHL is my dream."
I don't understand what keeps fueling this speculation. I'll be relieved when the playoffs (KHL and NHL) are over and he can either move to N.A. or sign a new contract.
If his biggest dream in life is to get his name on the Stanley Cup, then coming to St Louis next season looks like a great move. They should go into the season as one of the legit contenders, and he will only enhance that. How many millions is it worth to have your name engraved on there? No KHL team can offer a contract with that kind of incentive.
The Players AND ownership would be literally INSANE to not come up with some kind of deal both can live with. Another lockout this soon would have disastrous effects on The NHL's economics. I just CAN'T believe both sides would allow that to happen this contract.
Tarasenko should come to St. Louis this summer. He will earn maybe $1.5-2 million in his first year. Maybe he gives up $4million in Russia. Losing a few million per year in the first couple years is no big problem. He'll gain it all back plus a lot more in his second contract, and he'll have a longer NHL career. And he'll have a chance to compete for The Stanley Cup right away. More years playing on a true contender = more chances to win the elusive Cup. Many good players play a long career and never win it. He will come.
The only quotes I've ever seen from Tarasenko regarding this topic are translated interviews with papers in Russia where he continues to say things like, "Playing in the NHL is my dream."
I don't understand what keeps fueling this speculation. I'll be relieved when the playoffs (KHL and NHL) are over and he can either move to N.A. or sign a new contract.
If his biggest dream in life is to get his name on the Stanley Cup, then coming to St Louis next season looks like a great move. They should go into the season as one of the legit contenders, and he will only enhance that. How many millions is it worth to have your name engraved on there? No KHL team can offer a contract with that kind of incentive.
IIRC, many (if not most) Europeans and Russians don't really care all that much about the Stanley Cup, at least as much as they care about the Olympics. If he wants to come over, it will be for the long-term money and/or playing against the best competition in the world.
IIRC, many (if not most) Europeans and Russians don't really care all that much about the Stanley Cup, at least as much as they care about the Olympics. If he wants to come over, it will be for the long-term money and/or playing against the best competition in the world.
Many or most, but not all. It has always been his childhood dream to play in the NHL, so it makes sense that he dreamed of having his name on the Cup.
Like soccer players in America, you don't dream of winning the MLS, you dream of winning the Champions League or Premier League titles.
I'm pretty sure Tarasenko has said before that he values an Olympic gold medal more than the Cup. But just because it's not his ultimate goal it doesn't mean it isn't something he wants. I'm eager for the WCs to be over to see what he decides to do.
IIRC, many (if not most) Europeans and Russians don't really care all that much about the Stanley Cup, at least as much as they care about the Olympics. If he wants to come over, it will be for the long-term money and/or playing against the best competition in the world.
Seriously, making some generalized statement about "Russians" or "Europeans" doesn't really seem that helpful. We're talking about one guy here. Is it too much to ask that we put more weight on what he personally has said than any perceived continent-wide stereotypes?
IIRC, many (if not most) Europeans and Russians don't really care all that much about the Stanley Cup, at least as much as they care about the Olympics. If he wants to come over, it will be for the long-term money and/or playing against the best competition in the world.
Now it's different. I mean Olympic will always be the top priority, but they value Stanley Cup pretty high. The problem is not many Russian players have legit chances to get any decent roles in NHL clubs. And all others prefer to stay at home. But top prospects, I bet, dream of SC. Otherwise Yakupov and Grigorenko didn't come to play in Canada.
Show me a quote from Tarasenko that says anything even remotely like this.
Quote:
But the hardest question was: "What do you want to win more: Olympic Games or Stanley Cup?" ... I knew they wouldn’t like my reply, and it was like that. I replied like a normal Russian man: “Of course, Olympic games”. Americans don’t seem to care a lot about Olympic Games.
Overseas they think that the Stanley Cup is the most important thing, but for us the most important competition are the Olympic Games. And they are played only once every four years. I don’t want to make plans, but it’s my dream and I will try hard to get there.
Every European player values an Olympic gold over the Cup. For North Americans it is different because there isn't such a value to international team sports.
It is crazy to expect that Tarasenko would want his name on the Cup more than an Olympic gold. This is splitting hairs though; he wants to test himself, and beat the best in the world. That has always been his stance. That means the NHL is where he wants to play hockey, and that means he wants to win the Stanley Cup.
There's no conflict between Olympic participation and trying to win a Stanley Cup. Any hypothetical statements made in that regard were just posturing for the Collective Bargaining Agreement negotiations. Tarasenko can do both.
I am sure once a European plays in the NHL for a few years and becomes close with his teammates, winning the Cup means alot more than it did before coming over. Any professional athlete that becomes part of a true core of a team will want to win it just as bad as the guy next to him.
I've read an interview where he talk's about how the Olympics are very important, even implied more important than Stanley Cup. Also remember him commenting about his belief that the Olympics aren't as important in America (I believe he said America and not North America). But if I remember correctly he did that interview right after he was drafted, so he was already having to explain why he wanted to come over to the NHL. And even though he made it pretty clear about wanting to play in the NHL, he wanted everyone to know he would always love his country.
I have know problem with what he was trying to convey in that interview.
I've read an interview where he talk's about how the Olympics are very important, even implied more important than Stanley Cup. Also remember him commenting about his belief that the Olympics aren't as important in America (I believe he said America and not North America). But if I remember correctly he did that interview right after he was drafted, so he was already having to explain why he wanted to come over to the NHL. And even though he made it pretty clear about wanting to play in the NHL, he wanted everyone to know he would always love his country.
I have know problem with what he was trying to convey in that interview.
Olympic gold and the Stanley Cup aren't mutually exclusive, besides the Olympics are only once every 4 years.
The lockout being "imminent" is nonsense in my opinion. The league just got back to the level that they were at before the last lockout, and there is no way the players and/or the owners would take a chance on setting the league back another decade. The CBA may take a while to iron out, but a lockout could be disastrous to the league. Neither side is that hard headed to jeopardize the future of the entire league. I just can't see that happening.
