Head coach of St. Petersburg SKA and Ivan Demidov in the KHL, Roman Rotenberg, made contentious comments about the Montreal Canadiens in an interview with the website RG.org published Sunday.
Rotenberg compared SKA players to those of the Tricolore and seemed to suggest that Demidov is much better surrounded with his club than he would be in Montreal.
“His work ethic and our good collaboration have allowed him to develop, but we must not forget the quality of his partners here,” underlined Rotenberg. I will tell you honestly that there is no such partner in Montreal. There is no center of this caliber in Montreal, and no wingers either.
“Obviously opinions may differ, but that’s mine.”
Rotenberg seems well aware of the Canadiens’ failures, who fell to last place in the overall NHL standings after a 4-1 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday night.
We can assume, however, that SKA would welcome players of the caliber of Nick Suzuki or Cole Caufield with open arms.
Against Sochi last Thursday, Demidov played with Sergei Plotnikov and Mikhail Vorobyev, two forwards whose stay in the National Hockey League was quite short.
He also had the chance to play this season with Evgeny Kuznetsov, who had a very good career in North America, but who had lost his luster over the last two years.
Rotenberg has accustomed us to sweeping statements. Hockey’s self-proclaimed Jose Mourinho once compared the end of a losing streak to the end of the siege of Leningrad.
When he was appointed head coach of SKA with no professional experience as a player or coach, he boasted that he had seen 800 hockey games, valuable experience according to him.
Behind the scenes, Rotenberg – the son of the oligarch Boris, close to Vladimir Putin – is also said to have difficulty accepting criticism.
Although his credibility as a die-hard hockey man is questioned, Rotenberg has proven himself and delivered the goods as a manager. As vice-president of SKA, he took the club to another level, both on the ice and in business.
Important trip for Hughes and Bobrov to Russia
The Demidov file is one that Canadians must handle with great tact. SKA wants to keep the young striker in its fold longer than his current contract in Russia, which ends at the end of the season.
To build ties with Demidov, it is expected that CH general manager Kent Hughes will arrive in Putin’s country with Nick Brobov, his co-director of amateur recruitment.
Bobrov, himself a Russian and whose father is employed by the SKA, naturally has many contacts in Russia.
TVASports.ca reported in mid-October that Demidov had refused three contract extension offers from SKA, according to a source close to the player’s entourage.
Demidov plans to come to North America next season after completing the final year of his contract in Russia. This wish is known and has been expressed publicly. He obviously does not suit the St. Petersburg club.
Hughes and Bobrov must therefore play a balancing act. They want to get closer to Demidov, but must also respect the fact that he currently belongs to SKA. They will not want to offend the leaders in St. Petersburg and it is in their interest to maintain good relations with them.
Rotenberg has repeatedly praised the progress of Demidov, whom he benched on more than one occasion during the season. A situation that vice-president of hockey operations Jeff Gorton described as frustrating during an interview with competitive media.
