The NHL Could Play Games Against KHL Teams In The Near Future

The NHL Could Begin A Whole New Take On The Cold War

Everyone is already prepping for an exciting NHL season for 2021-2022. However, there could be some even more intriguing matchups in store. Alexei Morozov, the President of Russia’s KHL, recently came out with statements regarding talks he has had with the NHL. According to Russia’s Sport24 network, Morozov said the following:

“We interact with the NHL, we conduct official correspondence. We have plans to sit down with them live in mid-October and have a full talk. They showed interest in our idea. They said, let’s discuss together. Therefore, when we talk, we will tell you.”

Alexei Morozov via Anastasia Dragomir, Sport24 correspondent

This is some pretty surprising news. The NHL and KHL run on fairly different schedules and never have had competitions against each other before. However, there is a potential for this to be very successful. Even though the talent levels in both leagues are quite different, an American crowd would undoubtedly love to see some competition against the Russians. Even more intriguing is that the NHL’s TV rights are switching hands this fall. ESPN and TNT might be absolutely enthralled with a “Cold War” in the rink. Or they might completely hate it.

Plenty Of Question Marks

Regardless, there is a long way to go before anything is official. While Morozov’s intentions have been made clear, Gary Bettman and Bill Daly must now speak up. If talks really are slated for this October, then we might be in for a whole new level of hockey competition. However, there is much more semantics to go over. How many games would be played, at what locations, etc. Chances are they would either be pre-season competitions or even possibly during the All-Star game or outdoor game schedules. There could be hundreds of other questions to ask, but we should know more in due time.

This offseason was one of hockey’s most thrilling ones in recent memory. Everyone will be gunning for the Tampa Bay Lightning’s throne. With new broadcasts on the way and new faces in places, fans should be excited about this upcoming season. Adding matchups with the KHL should add another feather in the hat of a very interesting journey for the NHL since the pandemic. The next couple of months should make many things clearer in terms of what is in store.