Hockey exodus continues

The exodus of National Hockey League (NHL) stars to European teams during the US lockout has reached epidemic proportions with 276 NHL players on the move according to the International Ice Hockey Federation.

With no end in sight to the deadlock in salary cap negotiations which broke down in September, and the regular season due to have started on October 13, it is no surprise that a quota of players who could staff almost half the 30 teams in the NHL sought employment elsewhere.

Russia appears to be the main beneficiary of the migration of North American talent, with 61 NHL players plying their trade in the country. “The Russian league has a lot of money, either oil, locomotive or car money,” Kevin Prendergast, vice president for hockey operations of the Edmonton Oilers, told the New York Times.

Sweden is not far behind Russia with 58 NHL players, while the Czech Republic has 51.