The Bear Plays Hockey Too

Imagine for a moment that you own a very luxurious house in the woods. As you walk through your house, it is lavishly decorated with the finest furniture, the latest state of the art technology, and the kitchen has the most scrumptious food. It is a great time to live in your house, as the mortgage is about to be paid off and you can finally reap in the benefits of your hard work. But in what might seem to be a perfect scenario, it is not. You see, every night when you go to bed, you wake up the next morning and find that a bear has broken into your house and damaged your property. There are newly minted scratch marks on the floor, a window is shattered, and your personal stash of GIF peanut butter has gone missing. But no worries – you’re wealthy. You simply replace everything and go about your business.

But as time moves on, the bear keeps coming back. And every time it does, something else is broken or missing. Yet you stay the course, figuring that it will go away eventually. Unfortunately for you, the bear continues to smash and claw what it can – leaving nothing untouched. When you finally decide to deal with the beast, it is far too late, the bear has won. Wallowing in your own guilt, the only things you have left are the clothes on your back and the name of the bear. His name you ask? Many call this creature the KHL.

It is astounding to me the recent level of competition that is resonating from across the pond. The retirement home for old NHL veterans has recently reared its ugly head in a negative fashion with the signing of Evgeni Nabokov and Dennis Grebeshkov to SKA St. Petersburg. In his unveiling press conference, Nabokov slams the Edmonton Oilers and quickly refutes the claim that the level of competition in the KHL is a step down from the NHL. While it is unconfirmed, it seems liked the Oilers was the only club to put an offer on the table for Nabokov’s services.

For a man that hasn’t played a single game in KHL, he seems pretty confident. Perhaps it is his pride that is controlling his mouth. Maybe he knows something that we don’t. Or maybe he is just hiding the fact that a lot of KHL players are like the Swiss National Team – a lot of peskiness that can easily be squashed. Whatever the truth may be, there needs to be an answer to this mess.

So what is the perfect solution? Is there even a solution to consider? In his last article, ESPN’s Pierre Lebrun seems to be on to something. One of his suggestions sees a major change to the NHL All-Star game by adding KHL and European players. And while this idea might induce vomiting in the NHL headquarters, it is a solid idea – but forget the European players. If the NHL and KHL held an All-Star game every four years on North American soil, it would slowly smooth the rough edges that separate the two. It would prove once and for all who wears the crown while providing a meaningful and exciting game for the fans. But buyers beware, in this scenario; the NHL absolutely cannot afford to loose these games.

If the NHL doesn’t acknowledge the presence and potential power of the Kontinental Hockey League and then proceed to deal with it, it will destroy them. Sure, it might not seem a threat now with such signings as Jagr, Zednik, Nabokov, Afinogenov, and Grebeshkov. But as we all know, sooner or later, that bear will invite his friends.

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This is my official entry to be considered a writer for the blog "On the Forcheck".