Today in the International Herald Tribune there was an article, A new miracle on ice: Russia is luring back NHL stars, discussing the growing attractiveness of the Russian Superliga for current and future NHL players.
I first discussed this trend in a blog post titled, Bettman’s Bluff, on December 12th, 2007.
Here’s a quote from Alexei Yashin,
“Less and less players are going to the NHL and more and more are coming back here,” Yashin said in an interview in English after the game. “From my perspective, there is a competition between Russian clubs and the NHL for the best product on the ice.”
Ironically, the development of competition between the Russian Superliga and the NHL may actually turn-out to be the biggest opportunity for the NHL. How?
If the Russian Superliga actually approaches parity with the NHL that will then enable the NHL to merge their league with the Superliga to create a true Global Hockey League (GHL). Were the NHL to attempt to self finance such an expansion themselves, like the NFL sort of attempted in Europe, it would be much more costly and difficult.
Hockey is a game I used to love…. to both play and watch. I can’t tell you how many Boston Bruins games I used to watch on Channel 38 when I was a kid. The play-off games between the Montreal Canadiens and the Bruins were hockey at its best. However, as I’ve gotten older my interest has dropped. I might now tune-in for an Olympic game every 4 years. But the product that the NHL puts on the ice these days is only occasionally engaging.
But, were the NHL to merge with the Russian Superliga in say 5 years and add some other smaller European leagues, then you would have something special. I challenge the top executives at the NHL to put together a roadmap for the next 6 years with the goal of creating a Global Hockey League before the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics.
