KHL bans North American agents after a string of high profile exits to the NHL

Long gone are the days of luring over KHL stars like Artemi Panarin.

HockeyFeed
HockeyFeed
Published 3 years ago
KHL bans North American agents after a string of high profile exits to the NHL
Zuma Press

In case you missed the news last week a slough of high-profile Russian players hopped over from the KHL, signing deals in the NHL.

Alexander Barabanov inked a deal with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Artem Zub signed on with the Ottawa Senators and goalie Alexei Melnichuk signed with the San Jose Sharks.

Those signings may end up being the last major KHL to NHL moves that we see in a long, long while. That’s because the Russian league has instituted a rule banning North American agents from representing KHL players.

Check out this tidbit from Elliotte Friedman’s latest 31 Thoughts column:

There was an odd release from the KHL last week banning several agents from negotiating contracts there. Three — Mark Gandler, Dan Milstein and Paul Theofanous — do a lot of work with NHL players. You couldn’t help but wonder if that meant their ability to do business here would be damaged, but the NHLPA (which certifies agents) said the Russian league’s ruling has zero effect on them.
Milstein signed three of KHL St. Petersburg’s top players in the NHL: Alexander Barabanov (Toronto); Alexei Melnichuk (San Jose); and Artem Zub (Ottawa). Gandler brought a highly sought after prospect, 16-year-old Ivan Miroshnichenko, to USHL Muskegon. That’s the root of the problem. Russia does not like losing these players.


Only in Russia, man. Imagine the backlash the NHL would face if it were to ban agents based on their place of birth…