Morning Skate

For more information and up to the minute news on the KHL, head over to the Morning Skate at the NY Times. Anyway, here’s where you can find more of Medvedev’s press conference, including talk of expansion plans (to west and central Europe; “there is serious interest in establishing teams in such non-hockey cites as London, Paris and Milan” although he can’t say when that will happen) and signing more non-Russian players; the naming of the championship trophy, the Gagarin Cup, after the pioneering Soviet astronaut Yuri Gagarin (ask your grandfather), his reaction to the three most recent NHL signings (”The NHL’s position has become clear — they have returned to the original plan: That is, their contracts are a sacred cow, and the legitimacy of our contracts have yet to be proven.”) and his assessment that, in the absence of a transfer agreement, the IIHF rulings on potential disqualification of players from IIHF events might not carry much weight (”It would be as if the Pope forbade our girls to go to nightclubs.” Yes, very cheeky). Interesting thoughts about expanding into France, England etc. The jokes would write themselves when Berlin came to play Paris.

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