Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has led to the IIHF suspending Russia and Belarus from international hockey competition, and to the NHL severing ties with Russian business partners and the country’s largest pro hockey league.
Nearly two weeks after Russia first invaded Ukraine on Feb.24, the fallout from this military action is being felt throughout the hockey world. On Monday, the NHL suspended operation of its Memorandum of Understanding with Russia’s top professional circuit, the Kontinental Hockey League. According to a report from Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff, a memo to NHL general managers instructed teams to “immediately cease all dealings [direct or indirect] with the KHL and KHL Clubs [and all representatives of both], as well as with player agents who are based in and continue to do business in Russia.” The KHL started the season as a 24-team league spread across six countries — 19 teams in Russia and one each in Belarus, Kazakhstan, Finland, Latvia and China. Due to the global pandemic, the Chinese team, Kunlun Red Star, has been playing out of a Moscow suburb for the last two years. The KHL’s roster is made up mostly of Russian players, but also includes nationals for the non-Russian teams and players from other European nations, the United States and Canada. In pre-pandemic times, the 62-game KHL regular season ran from the beginning of September through the end of February, with playoffs in March and April. This year, plans to finish the regular season following the Winter Olympic break were scrapped in mid-February, with 45 to 50 games in the books. The Gagarin Cup playoffs were moved up to begin on March 1 and are now underway.
