Clubs of the National Hockey League remain one of the few who did not terminate contracts with the Russians, despite the situation in the world.
And this week they showed once again that they are not going to change their position.
And this time, not only the functionaries, but also the players spoke out.
The reason was the forthcoming departure of some clubs for exhibition matches in Europe.
In October, as part of the Global Series in Prague at the O2 Arena, two meetings of the regular season between San Jose and Nashville should take place.
However, the Czech Foreign Ministry asked the leadership of the NHL not to take on domestic athletes.
“We can confirm that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs sent a letter in which it noted that at the moment neither the Czech Republic nor any other state of the Schengen zone should issue visas to Russian players to enter our territory,” the organization said in a statement.
Earlier, two-time Stanley Cup winner Dominik Hasek called on the NHL to suspend the contracts of the Russians, he also campaigned for politicians to exclude the country from all international sports organizations.
However, he was especially harsh about the match between San Jose and Nashville in Prague.
At first, the Olympic champion asked not to hold it at all, but the option proposed by the Czech Foreign Ministry suited him perfectly.
“Yes, we do not want Russian aggression to be promoted here in any way.
First of all, we protect our lives and the lives of our allies,” Hasek wrote on social networks.
However, in this case, the NHL clubs for two must leave eight players at once at home.
Alexey Barabanov, Artemy Knyazev, Danil Gushchin, Timur Ibragimov and Evgeny Svechnikov play in San Jose.
In Nashville - Yakov Trenin, Yaroslav Askarov and Yegor Afanasiev.
And the league is not ready to take such a step, so the Czech Foreign Ministry reacted to the statement in an ultimatum form: according to Sharks general manager Mike Greer, without the Russians, the team simply will not fly to Europe.
“Either we all go, or no one.
We are a team.
It's not the fault of the players.
They didn't do anything wrong.
I don't think they should be punished for this.
We are in solidarity with them, and we are all one here, ”said the functionary.
Agree with the opinion of the management of the club and hockey players.
Moreover, they themselves are Czechs by nationality.
So, the defender of "San Jose" Radim Shimek noted the importance of the presence of forward Alexander Barabanov at the matches.
“I support Greer’s statement – of course.
If Barbie stays here, then our whole team should not go, ”the Czech San Jose Hockey Now quotes.
Forward "Sharks" Tomas Gertl, in turn, stressed that in this situation, the athletes are not to blame for anything.
“We support the team, and especially Barbie.
I played a lot with him last year, he's a great guy.
The situation is difficult.
This is not the mistake of the players, and he cannot be punished for this, ”said the hockey player.
At the same time, hockey agent Shumi Babaev, representing the interests of Nashville forward Yakov Trenin, does not exclude the option of canceling matches in Prague.
“The league has a clear position on this.
All the players have had visas for a long time, first they will perform in Switzerland, and then in the Czech Republic.
All this talk is propaganda that has nothing to do with the NHL.
Neither the Czech Republic, nor any other country can not let one of the players.
Or the meetings simply will not take place, ”RB Sport quotes Babaev as saying.
As the agent noted, this is an NHL event, and no one can dictate terms to her.
Especially Dominik Hasek, who does not hold any position in the local federation.
“For the NHL, he is not a decree at all.
As well as the country’s Foreign Ministry,” Babaev added.
Not everyone supports the position of Hasek, not only overseas, but also in the Czech Republic itself.
Journalist Vojtech Zizek believes that European fans will be the first to suffer from the cancellation of matches.
“Let's be honest, the NHL will easily do without matches in Prague, but their cancellation will be a big loss for Czech fans.
The World Cup 2024 is also connected with the same issue. This is a tournament exclusively under the auspices of overseas companies, for which it is of greater interest and benefit than the Olympics or the World Championships.
And gentlemen from the NHL are already thinking about how to get the Russians to their tournament.
Ovechkin, Kucherov and others are simply more interesting to the viewer than the Czechs, Slovaks or Swiss.
And even the events in Ukraine will not change this,” he wrote in his column in denik.cz.
The letter from the Czech Foreign Ministry to the NHL also looks strange because no one forbids the Russians to play in local championships.
Nikita Shcherbak plays in the Extraleague for Mountfield, goalkeeper Maxim Zhukov and striker Daniil Petrov are in the second division.
However, the NHL bosses are still calm.
According to the deputy commissioner of the league, Bill Daly, Russian hockey players will take to the ice in the Prague matches made.
According to him, all hockey players have already received visas and there are no problems with entering the country.
And the preparation for the meetings goes on as usual.