"After two wins over Dynamo, it was too early to believe in the series passing"

On May 29, the KHL season closing ceremony was held in Barvikha, and before it began, a traditional meeting of the league's club leaders was held there. In an interview with Izvestia, the results were summed up by the general manager of Ak Bars Kazan, Marat Valiullin, who also appreciated the April decision of the KHL board of directors to gradually raise the salary cap and floor, spoke about the necessary positions to strengthen the team, negotiations on new contracts with forwards Artem Galimov and Ilya Safonov, and also commented on the work of the head coach. Anvar Gatiyatulin's team and his interaction with his predecessor, now the club's consultant Zinetula Bilyaletdinov.

— How would you rate the last management meeting?

— In principle, the meeting was good. The league's leadership has reported on many issues. For example, about the attendance figures for KHL matches last season — they are good, there are a lot of viewers. We see that the league is developing.

— Club leaders did not actively comment on the April decision of the board of directors to raise the salary cap of the KHL by the 2027/28 season to 1 billion rubles from the current 900 million. How did you perceive such changes?

— We said at the last meetings of the club leaders that we were satisfied with such figures. We are working in the realities that currently exist. As far as I understand, all the other clubs do too.

— To what extent does Ak Bars need to strengthen for next season?

— First of all, I would like to note that we need to preserve the leaders that we have. Those who want to go to Canada and America, who really have offers from there. The guys played well last season. And saving them is a top priority. And the secondary goal is to find good central strikers. We look at the candidates and communicate on them. There is a lot of competition for hockey players among clubs, but at the same time there is a large circle of guys who enter the market. So it will be interesting.

— Speaking of those who want to go overseas, do you mean Artem Galimov, Ilya Safonov and Amir Miftakhov?

— Yes, we are talking to them. We will try to keep them as much as possible.

— There was information in some telegram channels that you had agreed on new contracts with them.

— Basically, they write every day that they have agreed or not agreed. I can say that there are no absolute agreements yet.

— A year and a half ago, when we talked at the KHL All-Star Game in St. Petersburg, you said that you were talking to Dmitry Voronkov about a possible return from the NHL. Is this topic irrelevant now?

— No, why not. We remained on good friendly terms with him. We talked to him both during the season and at the end of it. Now, when he came on vacation from the USA, he was congratulated on the end of the season in Columbus. Always in touch with him. We are always waiting for him in Kazan. Let's see how his situation develops further. He had a good season in the NHL, became one of the leaders of Columbus. And we understand that there are minimal chances to bring him now.

— So the chances of getting it back are significantly lower now than they were then?

- yes. The situations are still different. In 2023, when Voronkov played in Cleveland (the Columbus farm club in the AHL. — Izvestia), he played several matches there, he really wanted to return to Ak Bars. But then, due to certain circumstances, he stayed there. And as a result, I overcame difficulties in the form of the language barrier and other issues. Now you can see for yourself how Dima has adapted to Columbus, how much he has settled into the team and the league.

— Are there any possible changes in the coaching staff among Anvar Gatiyatulin's assistants?

— Perhaps there will be some additional reinforcement. We are working on several options, but those coaches who already exist will remain.

— What did Ak Bars lack in the quarterfinal playoff series against Dynamo Moscow? Why, having led 2-0 after two away wins, lost four consecutive matches and were eliminated?

— Probably, first of all, we believed too early that we could complete the series. Perhaps these first two matches, which were victorious, had a negative impact. It seems like a win, but, on the other hand, we thought that now we would run forward and the like. But Dynamo played more closely, waited for our mistakes and punished us for every one of them. In principle, the three matches we lost were from the knife, but the opponent was probably more lucky. And in the last, sixth, match, we missed at the very beginning — it was already difficult to win back, but we fought to the last, regardless of what the score would be.

— A year has passed since Zinetula Bilyaletdinov left the post of head coach and was replaced by Anvar Gatiyatulin, but the appointment of Zinetula Haidarovich as a consultant at Ak Bars and Gatiyatulin's words about the advice of his predecessor caused a stir. Are you satisfied with this format of interaction?

— To be honest, I don't really understand such a stir from the appearance of such a well-deserved person as Bilyaletdinov, who simply advises, and not on an ongoing basis. Many clubs also have consultants who help the coaches. Perhaps Zinetula Haidarovich was just particularly visible, because he went to Ak Bars matches, appeared in the stands and sometimes he was photographed there and then these photos were snatched by everyone. Although he came to Kazan once a month, the public paid such attention to each visit.

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— Has he been in Moscow for most of the season?

- of course. He and Anvar Rafailovich used to talk on the phone, and during the playoffs, Zinetula Haidarovich came to Kazan to watch the matches, but was not in the locker room.

— At the away matches of Ak Bars in Moscow, I saw him go into the locker room after the game.

— That's right, that's after the game, not during it.

— You understand that such a stir is caused by the fact that in this case the consultant is the previous head coach of Ak Bars, his legend, who has already been vice-president and adviser, but each time it ended with his return to the leadership of the team.

— But he has done a lot for the club, for the Republic of Tatarstan and for hockey in general in Russia. He is a respected man. And his recommendations, some areas, will probably benefit.