TORONTO -- Alexei Kovalev,
Brad Richards and Nikolai Khabibulin
became the latest NHL players to join a European team during the
lockout, agreeing to play in Russia.
Since the lockout began, about 250 NHL players have headed to teams in
Europe, about one-third of the league, according to the International
Ice Hockey Federation.
Kovalev, Richards and Khabibulin all signed with Russia's AK Bars Kazan.
Kovalev, an unrestricted free agent, also played in his native country
during the 1994-95 lockout. Back then he joined Lada Togliatti.
"There doesn't seem to be any reason to believe the lockout will end so
he just decided he wanted to play some hockey," Kovalev's agent, Scott
Greenspun, said Monday.
Richards and Khabibulin helped the Tampa Bay Lightning win the Stanley
Cup last season. Khabibulin was outstanding in goal, and Richards won
the Conn Smythe Trophy as the most valuable player in the playoffs.
Also, Jaromir Jagr of the New York
Rangers is leaving the Czech league to play for the Russian club Omsk
Avangard, the Czech daily newspaper Sport said Monday. More than
50 Czech players, including stars Milan Hejduk, Patrik Elias and Tomas
Vokoun, returned home during the lockout.
Kovalev had 45 points in 78 games with the Rangers and Montreal last
season. In the playoffs, he had 10 points in 11 games, leading the
Canadiens to a first-round upset of Boston.
Kovalev joins a Kazan lineup loaded with NHL talent. The team signed
Tampa Bay's Vincent Lecavalier last
Thursday, Richards' friend and teammate. Lecavalier will report to Kazan
on Nov. 23.
Kaza already has Ilya Kovalchuk of Atlanta, Nik Antropov of Toronto,
Darius Kasparaitis of the New York Rangers, Ruslan Salei of Anaheim,
Fred Brathwaite of Columbus, Denis Arkhipov of Nashville and Alexei
Morozov of Pittsburgh.
Kazan, owned by an oil company and in the far east of Russia, is
celebrating the 1,000-year anniversary of the Tatarstan republic. The
team is intent on winning the Russian league in honor of the celebration.
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