Ice crossing: will Vladimir Tkachev be able to become the leader of Metallurg

Vladimir Tkachev's transfer to Metallurg, Spartak's star foreign newcomer, the KHL's main provocateur, remained at Dynamo, while Siberia parted ways with its veteran. Read more about the key transfers of the KHL offseason in July in the Izvestia article.

Following in Mozyakin's footsteps

Former Avangard striker Vladimir Tkachev did not stay long as a free agent. Metallurg has done a lot of work and found arguments for the star forward to move to the Southern Urals. The deal with Vladimir claims to be the main one in the offseason. Evgeny Biryukov, the Ural sports director, received a lot of criticism for his passivity in the market when he first took office. This summer, the young manager got involved and brought in several strong transfers.

According to the player's agent, Shumi Babayev, Viktor Rashnikov, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Magnitogorsk Iron and Steel Works, personally expressed a desire to see Vladimir Tkachev in the team.

Hockey Magnitogorsk has not seen a forward of Tkachev's level and status for a long time. You can recall Nikolai Goldobin's two and a half years at the club, but he remained in the shadow of Philippe Maillet and did not play as consistently as Vladimir. Perhaps the last player of this status at Metallurg was Sergey Mozyakin, who finished his career in 2021.

Spartak signed a valuable foreigner

Nathan Todd could have moved from Ufa to Kazan, but Spartak won the fight for the striker. The forward came to the KHL a year ago, signing a contract with Salavat Yulaev along with Sheldon Rempal, another newcomer from North America. And if Rempal was looking for himself in Russia for a long time, then Todd fit in much faster. Over time, he became the most valuable element of Viktor Kozlov's attack. His importance was especially evident in the playoffs, when Nathan dropped out due to injury. Only the forward doesn't have the highest percentage on face—offs (42.1) - perhaps this is his main problem.

At Salavat, Todd was overshadowed by other foreign players all season, but he played effectively and brought a lot of benefits. In the regular season, the Canadian scored 52 (14+38) points in 68 matches. After signing Nathan, Alexei Zhamnov had more variability in his offense. Todd is a fighter whose importance increases in cup matches. Spartak didn't have enough players of this type to put the squeeze on Salavat Yulaev in the second round this spring.

Todd's base salary at Spartak will be 45 million rubles per year. He can get 20 million for 20 points scored in the regular season, and another 10 million for 45 points. And another 30 million if he becomes one of the top three regular season scorers in the league.

Save the Canadian

Dynamo postponed the announcement of Maxime Comtois' new contract until the end of July, but there was practically no doubt that the parties would come to an agreement. The Canadian left a bright mark last season and was remembered as one of the main provocateurs of the league. Although the beginning of the regular season was extremely difficult for him. The club almost kicked out the striker, but showed patience, and Comtois repaid him with great hockey, high dedication and the ability to get under the skin of rivals.

Such attackers are always valuable. After everything that happened at the start of last season, Alexey Kudashov understands how to work with a forward so that his warm heart helps the team. Dynamo's prospects have increased significantly after this deal. The one-year contract hints that Maxim is still thinking about returning to the NHL. One can readily believe this if the forward spends the next season in the KHL the same way as the end of the previous one. Comtois' salary is 70 million rubles a year.

Metallurg traded a stagnating forward

Metallurg prepared for the signing of Vladimir Tkachev by exchanging Igor Geraskin. The deal with Admiral helped free up the payment for the contract of the former Avangard forward. In addition, the Uralians received striker Arseny Kovgoren and sent monetary compensation to the Far East. It is worth thinking carefully about the prospects of the Belarusian in the Metallurg system. The forward played only five matches in the KHL, and before that he played in local leagues. Rather, it is an asset for the club vertical.

The Geraskin exchange did not turn out to be empty for Metallurg. Magnitogorsk got a player for the future. The club respectfully parted with Igor: he was not put on the NCA market through termination, but a team of a suitable level was found. In Admiral, Geraskin will get a chance to restart his career. The striker languished at Metallurg, although more recently, when Igor represented Severstal, several top KHL clubs were hunting for him.

Siberia broke up with a veteran

Maxim Karpov began to improve rapidly last season, which should not be surprising given his age and playing style. With a salary of 40 million rubles, it was unrealistic to exchange the striker, so the Sibir management resorted to a sad but inevitable decision.

Note that everything was done honestly and without suspicion. The termination of the contract was initiated by the club. This means that Karpov will receive his 10 million rubles. That's how it should be in all fairness. It would be better to fix in the regulations only such a way of parting with players on contracts. It is difficult to make an accurate forecast about Karpov's future in the KHL, but there is confidence that he will find a job.