"Having joined Metallurg, Razin is engaged only in coaching"

A meeting of the KHL Board of Directors was held on Thursday, at which its new composition was elected. Two representatives of Magnitogorsk Metallurg retained their seats in it — President Viktor Rashnikov and club director Greedy Zhloba. Their team started the season ambiguously, having played three matches at home. She defeated Ak Bars Kazan in a shootout (4:3), lost in overtime to Salavat Yulaev Ufa (2:3) and lost in shootouts to Dynamo Moscow (1:2).

In the offseason, the club signed two star newcomers, forwards Vladimir Tkachev and Sergei Tolchinsky, who prematurely terminated long—term contracts with their previous teams, who left Avangard Omsk and SKA St. Petersburg, respectively. In addition, the captain of Magnitogorsk was replaced by Alexei Maklyukov instead of Egor Yakovlev, who has been rumored to have disagreements with head coach Andrei Razin for several seasons. As a result, Egor missed the first match against Ak Bars, and Tolchinsky was out of the application for the game against Salavat, who, like Tkachev, has not scored a single point so far.

In an interview with Izvestia, Greedy Zhloba commented on the situation with the team's leaders, rumors of negotiations with star forward Evgeny Kuznetsov, and also spoke about Razin's credentials, who won the Gagarin Cup with Metallurg in 2024.

— At the last meeting of the KHL board of directors, the high-profile stories of the offseason with numerous early cancellations of players' contracts were discussed?

— No, it wasn't discussed. There were no global solutions. Standard work: summarizing the results and financial results of last season and plans for the current season-2025/26. As well as the election of a new board of directors.

— Metallurg emerged as the beneficiary of the most high-profile of these cancellations, signing Vladimir Tkachev, with whom Avangard parted ways with another four years of contract. Apart from the fact that you have a player of this level, how do you generally assess this practice when long-term agreements turn out to be unreliable?

— We will or will not be able to consider ourselves a beneficiary only at the end of this season, when we see the results of the team. As for the contract termination situation itself, I can only speak for Metallurg: we have been working within the rules and regulations of the KHL, and we will continue to work further. What happens at other clubs is not a topic for discussion in this interview.

— Don't you want to discuss the numerous stories of players' salaries being lowered in some clubs in order to meet the ceiling?

— I can't give advice to other clubs. I repeat, Metallurg operates within the framework of the KHL regulations — these are the indisputable rules that our club always adheres to.

— Vladimir Tkachev has not scored a single point so far this season, although many expected that a player of this level would immediately make a result. Is there a fear that his adaptation is being delayed?

— There are no concerns. Yes, Vladimir has not yet fully demonstrated his qualities, but we are sure that as he works with his teammates, he will begin to show the game that is expected of him. It takes time, and judging by several matches is wrong.

— How would you comment on the rumors about your club's negotiations with Evgeny Kuznetsov, who recently came to Magnitogorsk and attended one of the matches?

— Yes, he was in Magnitogorsk, watched one of our matches from the stands, talked to various people he knew in the city, but there were no official conversations with him at the club level.

— Another star newcomer of Metallurg, Sergey Tolchinsky, also did not score a single point at the start of the season and has already missed one of the first matches.

— Andrey Razin, at a press conference after the match with Salavat Yulaev, in which Tolchinsky did not play, gave exhaustive explanations for the reasons for Sergei's absence from the application (Razin stated that Tolchinsky did not yet fit into Metallurg's schemes, and he was given a chance to watch the team's game from the outside. — Izvestia). I have nothing to add here. I can only say that it was just one game. And there is nothing supernatural about the absence of a player in a particular match. Our bench allows at least one hockey player to be removed from the squad in case of an unsuccessful game.

— And the situation with Egor Yakovlev — the loss of the captain's stripe before the season and the absence from the squad for the opening match against Ak Bars — how should it be perceived?

— This is the inner kitchen of the club. The situation has been discussed more than once, and I see no point in rocking it again. The same Razin has already explained the reasons for the captain's change.

— Do you have anything to add to this?

— He was broadcasting not only his position, but the whole club. The captain's badge should be worn by the one who is the leader not only in the locker room, but also on the ice.

— Razin's contract expires at the end of this season. He joined Metallurg in 2023 on the condition that he would win the Gagarin Cup in the first two seasons. He managed to solve the problem in the very first season. After being eliminated in the first round of the past, does his future depend heavily on the results of the upcoming playoffs?

— First of all, he never had the task of winning the Gagarin Cup in his contract.

— Was it in words?

— I was paying lip service. But, probably, every top club sets such tasks anyway — it's normal. Metallurg has one goal every year — to lead the regular season and win the Gagarin Cup. It didn't work out a bit last season, but now we're working again to bring the trophy back to Magnitogorsk.

— When Sergey Biryukov replaced Sergey Gomolyako as Metallurg's sports director a year ago, it seemed from the outside that Razin had forced himself to expand his powers, as he had at Severstal, where he combined the work of head coach and general manager. What is the real situation?

— We have a clear division of powers. Everyone works according to their job descriptions. This applies to both the athletic director and the head coach. The sports director is engaged in breeding. The head coach works with the team and works to achieve a sporting result. Razin, from the moment he joined Metallurg, has been engaged only in coaching.

— So even the transfer of a large group of Severstal players to Metallurg during Razin's first season was not his sole initiative?

— It was his wish, but the club also worked together on their transitions. It was a joint effort to achieve the result. We suggest that the head coach confirms certain candidates.