The preseason "friendlies" and the annual
European Trophy tournament are already underway on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean. Nevertheless, it is clear that Silly Season isn't over in Europe when it comes to speculating where NHL players will play in the event of a lockout.
According to an
article in iDnes.cz (an online Czech newspaper), there has been recent speculation that Dallas Stars right winger Jaromir Jagr, who owns the HC Rytiri Kladno (Kladno Knights) team in the Czech Extraliga, is trying to recruit a host of NHL players to join him in playing for Kladno in the event of a lockout.
As the rumor goes, this could include as many as three of Jagr's former Flyers' teammates: fellow Kladno native Jakub Voracek (who is an alumnus of the HC Kladno junior program) and Jagr's linemates from last season, Claude Giroux and Scott Hartnell.
Jagr, who did not respond to a text message yesterday asking for comment, was quoted in the original Czech article. I don't speak Czech -- at least not beyond the language's absolutely critical words such as ahoj, děkuji, hokej, lední, gól, branka, and pivo -- so I had to rely on Google Translate to get the gist of his response to a question about whether he would bring NHL players to Kladno in the event of a lockout.
"Everyone would like as many guys (as possible) from the NHL to play here," said Jagr. "But even if there's a lockout, nobody knows when it will end. And after the departure of those players, suddenly (you) have no team."
Personally, I would be surprised if Giroux or Hartnell (more so in Giroux's case) wind up playing in the Czech Republic in the event of a lockout, regardless of their friendship with Jagr. In fact, I doubt it's even been discussed at this point. Each man's sole right now is on getting ready to play in the NHL. If and when there's a lockout, the time would come to discuss alternative places to play.
Assuming there is a lockout, here are four key considerations:
1) Team budgets in the Extraliga are quite low. Even if a player doesn't want to opt to play in the KHL, there are other European leagues where there is more money to be made than in the Czech Republic. That is why even many Czech former NHL players returning to Europe opt for other leagues, at least until the tail end of their careers when they simply want to play the game and give something back to the teams that gave them their start.
The Swiss National League offers good pay by European hockey standards. It also has the advantage of light travel, a 50-game schedule and pleasant living conditions. As such, if there is a lockout, I expect a large contingent of NHL players to head to Switzerland.
For example, one need only look at the team that HC Davos assembled during the 2004-05 lockout -- Joe Thornton, Rick Nash, Niklas Hagman, Josef Marha and others -- to see the strong appeal of the Swiss League. The circuit may not be as well-known in North America as Sweden's Elitserien and Finland's SM-liiga but has high-quality hockey in its own right.
Danny Briere played in Switzerland (SC Bern) during the 2004-05 lockout. The change in his family situation in subsequent years plus the recent loss of his mother would probably preclude it this time around. Even if Briere stays put in North America, I could easily see Giroux choosing to play in Switzerland if he does opt to go overseas. I think it would be right up his alley.
2) Hartnell is a small minority owner of Finnish SM-liiga team KalPa Kuopio, along with his good buddy and Flyers teammate, Kimmo Timonen. Ex-Flyer Sami Kapanen is the team's majority owner. KalPa's lure may be stronger lure despite Hartnell's friendship with and deep respect for Jagr.
Considering the fact that Hartnell played in Norway for Vålerenga during the 2004-05 lockout at a time before he was making $4-plus million per season in the NHL, I doubt salary will be main concern this time around, either. Both KalPa and Kladno would be viable choices if the paycheck doesn't matter all that much.
There would also be nothing to preclude an arrangement for Hartnell to play a few weeks for both clubs -- that is not all that unusual in European hockey. As a matter of fact, Jagr himself did that during the 2004-05 lockout, starting out with Kladno for minimal money (Jaromir Jagr Sr. was running the team at the time) and then heading for Russia to play the rest of the season for Avangard Omsk at an exponentially higher salary.
Jagr's Kladno team recently signed ex-Flyer Jan Hlavac to a contract that enables the player to leave at any time if he can secure a (higher-paying) contract with a team outside the Czech Republic. I'm sure Kladno would do the same for current NHL players who would want to leave for another league at some point in a prolonged lockout.
Hartnell usually makes a summertime trip to Finland along with Timonen. For various reasons, they weren't able to go this year. That's another reason why Hartnell might choice to go to Kuopio from the get-go or else put in some time both in the Czech Republic and in Finland.
It will be interesting to see what Timonen does in the event of a lockout. He played for KalPa during the 2004-05 lockout, helping the team get back in the SM-liiga after it was on the brink of going out of business following its bankruptcy and relegation.
On the one hand, there has to be some temptation to play again in his hometown off Kuopio. He could rejoin longtime friend Kapanen as a teammate and also play as a teammate with his brother, ex-Flyer Jussi Timonen.
On the other hand, Kimmo is 37 years old and coming off back surgery. He may opt to sit out during a lockout, figuring a couple extra months off would do him some good. In the event there's a lockout that drags on beyond a month or two, he could join KalPa at any time of his choosing. The team could certainly use him, even if its just for a few games.
3) NHL players who go overseas will need insurance policies in case of serious injury. These are typically paid for by the team. Given Kladno's budget, that could be problematic.
4) As Jagr noted in the iDnes article, each roster spot that goes to an NHL player is one fewer spot available for players contracted to play the entire season with the European club. When an NHL lockout ends, suddenly the roster is decimated if there are too many players departing to head back to North America.
In fact, Sweden's Elitserien
ruled today that teams in Sweden will NOT be allowed to sign NHL players to short-term contracts. If a player signs, he is expected to stay the entire season, in accordance with current league rules.
I could definitely see Voracek playing for Kladno, at least for part of an NHL lockout. Likewise, other NHL players who hail from the town -- such as Tomas Plekanec and Ondrej Pavelec --could suit up for some Extraliga games with the Knights this year.
Their presence would be a major boost on the ice and at the box office. Even so, I don't think Kladno or other European teams would put themselves in the position of suddenly having to fill in six or seven vacant spots in the lineup a couple months into the season.
If there is an NHL lockout, European teams will set aside a certain number of roster spots for recruited NHL players depending upon their spending power-- say 2 to 5 total spots -- and otherwise go about business as normal.
It strains both economic and hockey credibility to expect that Jagr, Voracek, Giroux, Hartnell and multiple Kladno-born NHLers with no Flyers connections will all end up playing for the Knights during an NHL lockout. But it sure does make for some fun Silly Season fantasy.
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