MOSCOW, May 24. / Corr. TASS Rustam Sharafutdinov /. The decision to exclude Metallurg Novokuznetsk from the list of participants in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) championship is illegal. The general director of the club, Sergei Zinoviev, told reporters about this.

The decision to withdraw Metallurg from the KHL was made on Wednesday. According to the league concept, excluded Russian clubs will have the opportunity to play in the Higher Hockey League (VHL).

“We believed to the end that we would have time to fix everything. This decision runs counter to the regulations from which we are starting from. The league has committed a misdemeanor,” Zinoviev said.

When asked whether the club will defend its rights in court, Zinoviev replied: "We will consult, the league's decision is unlawful. Reason has not prevailed over commercialization issues. We could have been told about this at the beginning of the championship, not at the end."

The management of Metallurg Novokuznetsk has not yet decided whether the club will play in the VHL

According to Zinoviev, Metallurg's management has not yet decided whether the club will play in (VHL). "I believe that the club should continue to exist. Regarding which league we will play in, we will still consult and make a decision. We hope that there will be some kind of sensible, reasonable decision," Zinoviev said.

Vice-president of Metallurg Magnitogorsk Gennady Velichkin said that he had asked the league's board of directors to leave the Novokuznetsk club in the KHL for next season. "It is true that I asked to give Novokuznetsk Metallurg one year to rectify the situation. But it's too late to think, the decision has been made," Velichkin said.

The Novokuznetsk team has played in the KHL since the very first league championship (2008) and never made it to the playoffs.

There is already a candidate for the head coach of Metallurg.

Novokuznetsk Metallurg announced personnel changes. CEO Sergei Zinoviev will leave the club and coaching staff teams led by Vadim Shakhraychuk.

How it all started

On May 24, President of the Kontinental Hockey League Dmitry Chernyshenko announced that Metallurg Novokuznetsk and Medvescak Croatian would not play in the KHL starting from the 2017/18 season. “27 clubs will play in the KHL next season. The two weakest clubs in terms of sports and financial results. These are Medvescak and Novokuznetsk Metallurg, which became the last in all ratings. "

Chernyshenko: costs are lower in VHL, "Kuznya" can send money to the development of the school

The ensuing reaction in Novokuznetsk

The mayor of Novokuznetsk, Sergei Kuznetsov, on the air of radio Kuzbass FM, commented on the situation with the expulsion of Metallurg from the KHL.

“We will deal with the management of Metallurg, which allowed this situation and began to solve it, when everything was practically a foregone conclusion ... I do not need a director like Zinoviev - he has some kind of interpersonal relationship with Chernyshenko, thanks to which he is not could get into his office, stood at the door.

Further, I instructed the lawyers to check how legal the exclusion of Metallurg was in accordance with the league's regulations. And finally, get ready for the VHL games. Because with such a game that Metallurg showed in last season, it is not a fact that we will play successfully in the Major League. Therefore, we need to watch the team, talk with the hockey players who agree to play in the VHL, play in such a way as to qualify for a return to the KHL. "

Zinoviev: reason did not prevail, “Forge” has no way back to the KHL

The general manager of Metallurg Novokuznetsk, Sergei Zinoviev, commented on the decision of the board of directors to exclude the club from the league.

Metallurg submitted an application and entered the Higher hockey league... At the same time, EVRAZ, the general sponsor of Metallurg Novokuznetsk, maintained its funding for the hockey club in the new season at the level of the 2016/17 season, despite the team's exclusion from the Continental Hockey League.

Kuznya held two pre-season tournaments and was preparing for the first match in the VHL championship, scheduled for September 13.

On September 6, three and a half months after the announcement of the mayor Kuznetsov, the club announced the departure of the general director Sergei Zinoviev and the team's coaching staff headed by Vadim Shakhraichuk.

Club press release

“In order to interact with the structured vertical of Novokuznetsk hockey, it will become even more dense and constructive. The invitation of experienced specialists should contribute to the further progress of young pupils of the Novokuznetsk hockey school, their subsequent performance in the "Bears" and "Metallurg", as well as the return to our team of those local pupils who had previously left their home club for various reasons. For this, certain changes are necessary. In the starting season, Metallurg and Kuznetsk Medved will face ambitious tournament goals, which also require further personnel changes. Metallurg's general director Sergei Zinoviev and the Metallurg team's coaching staff are leaving the club. Last working day in Novokuznetsk hockey club for specialists will be September 7, 2017, ”the club's press service said in a statement.

According to other sources, the former general director of the club, Vladimir Rokkel, is also directly related to Zinoviev's departure from Metallurg.

Expert opinion

“I don’t understand at all the personnel decisions of Novokuznetsk over the past ten years, when the team turned into such a sump for training incomprehensible personnel. As for the dismissal of Zinoviev and the coaching staff headed by Vadim Shakhraichuk, we do not know the reason for this decision. I can't say whether the dismissal of the entire work team was right or not. We don’t know the club’s policy, we don’t know at all who determines this very policy of the “Forge”. Nobody knows why these coaches appeared, what tasks they faced. All this is done behind the scenes. I think Metallurg should give an official clarification on this situation in the near future.

It's hard to say what awaits "Forge" in the new season. The most important thing is to understand what the region wants from this team. But over the past ten years there has been no clear direction as to why Novokuznetsk Metallurg is needed. There was no strategy. I am convinced that we need to come to a complete reorganization of our hockey. On the basis of the VHL, it is necessary to make up the Super League, this will give an impetus to the development of our sport. And, of course, the KHL should be cut. After the Olympics, this must be done, "said the honored coach of Russia Yuri Novikov, who worked at Metallurg Novokuznetsk from 1998 to 2000.

Who will be the new head coach of the team

According to the Championship, the new head coach of Metallurg will be Anatoly Khomenko, who worked for a long time in the Yaroslavl Lokomotiv system, including a member of the coaching staff of Sean Simpson and Dave King.

Novokuznetsk Metallurg announced personnel changes. The club's general director and coaching staff, headed by Vadim Shakhraychuk, will leave the club.

How it all started

Chernyshenko: costs are lower in VHL, "Kuznya" can send money to the development of the school

The ensuing reaction in Novokuznetsk

The mayor of Novokuznetsk, Sergei Kuznetsov, on the air of radio Kuzbass FM, commented on the situation with the expulsion of Metallurg from the KHL.

Further, I instructed the lawyers to check how legal the exclusion of Metallurg was in accordance with the league's regulations. And finally, get ready for the VHL games. Because with such a game that Metallurg showed in the last season, it is not a fact that we will play successfully in the Major League. Therefore, we need to watch the team, talk with the hockey players who agree to play in the VHL, play in such a way as to qualify for a return to the KHL. "

Zinoviev: reason did not prevail, “Forge” has no way back to the KHL

The general manager of Metallurg Novokuznetsk, Sergei Zinoviev, commented on the decision of the board of directors to exclude the club from the league.

What happened next

Metallurg applied and entered the Higher Hockey League. At the same time, EVRAZ, the general sponsor of Metallurg Novokuznetsk, maintained its funding for the hockey club in the new season at the level of the 2016/17 season, despite the team's exclusion from the Continental Hockey League.

Kuznya held two pre-season tournaments and was preparing for the first match in the VHL championship, scheduled for September 13th.

On September 6, the club announced the departure of the general director Sergei Zinoviev and the team's coaching staff headed by Vadim Shakhraichuk.

Club press release

“In order to interact with the structured vertical of Novokuznetsk hockey, it will become even more dense and constructive. The invitation of experienced specialists should contribute to the further progress of young pupils of the Novokuznetsk hockey school, their subsequent performance in the "Bears" and "Metallurg", as well as the return to our team of those local pupils who had previously left their home club for various reasons. For this, certain changes are necessary. In the starting season, Metallurg and Kuznetsk Medved will face ambitious tournament goals, which will also require further personnel changes. Metallurg's general director and the Metallurg team's coaching staff are leaving the club. The last working day in the Novokuznetsk ice hockey club for specialists will be September 7, 2017, ”the club's press service said in a statement.

Expert opinion

Who will be the new head coach of the team

"Forge" goes to the bottom. There were hopes, but they were dashed

Events that take place in recent times in the camp of Novokuznetsk Metallurg cannot be ignored. True Novokuznetsk fans who are going to KHL matches less and less, in the near future they may even be left without hockey.

The club's management makes one wrong step after another, while considerable funds are invested in these incomprehensible decisions, which could probably be used more competently. At the same time, it is known that the new management of the club is trying by all means to get rid of those employees who have been working in the club for a long time, forcing them to write statements "of their own free will" ...

There were hopes, but they were dashed

V this season Novokuznetsk "Metallurg" firmly settled on the bottom standings Continental Hockey League. He, frankly, did not shine in the past either, but it was a team of fighters that gave eminent rivals a lot of trouble. Suffice it to recall at least the three Cossacks-Stoa-Whims, which exactly a year ago during the championship was by this time the most productive link in the KHL. A whole galaxy of talented hockey players received playing practice under the guidance of an experienced mentor Solovyov. Many matches were lost only in overtime or in shootouts. The fans were ready to endure a little more in order to get a full-fledged team capable of competing for high places. In a word, there was a game, passions blazed on the ice and in the stands.

Much has changed since then. And it seems that the owners of the club are doing one illogical action after another. Over the past few months, it was first decided to change the CEO, then one of the most experienced KHL coaches Nikolai Soloviev, and after that the general manager Valery Zelepukin was also dismissed. Rumor has it that in the near future HC "Metallurg" may officially declare itself bankrupt, and, accordingly, those employees who even had an agreement with the club may well not receive the money owed.

Not the most optimistic rumors concern the financial future of individual hockey players of “Metallurg”. There is evidence that the club's management summons the players and insists on changing the numbers in the already signed unilateral contract. Naturally, downward. I would like to draw the attention of the union to this unconfirmed data. KHL hockey players to clarify whether we are really falling into complete lawlessness and lawlessness.

The forest is chopped - the chips are flying

The current CEO Sergei Zinoviev is a protégé of the club owners from EVRAZ. A pupil of the Novokuznetsk ice hockey school, Sergei Olegovich Zinoviev, headed the club during the preparation of the team for the season. It was he who initiated the invitation to “Metallurg” of several players, including Mikhail Anisin and Andrey Pervyshin, who managed to play in many KHL teams... The indicators of Mikhail who left the club were according to the "goal + pass" system - in 20 games he scored only 2 (!) Points with a usefulness indicator of "-10".

The "successes" of management are not limited to this. At the last home games to support “Metallurg” came only about one and a half thousand fans. The residents of Novokuznechans vote with rubles not only against the intermediate result, to which it would be time to get used to it under EVRAZ, but also against the incomprehensible backstage games that have been going on since the beginning of the season. By the way, Zinoviev at one time played under the leadership of Nikolai Soloviev, but their relationship as a leader and coach did not work out. As a result, one of the most experienced specialists was the first to be fired, several rounds after the start of the championship. Really the owners of the club and the general director were smart enough to blame the venerable Nikolai Dmitrievich Solovyov for the team's failures?

Apparently, the dismissal of Soloviev may well be due to the fact that this specialist was invited by Zinoviev's predecessor, Vladimir Rokkel. Whoever said what, but it was he who initiated the summer charity auction in support of Novokuznetsk ice hockey with the participation of stars. The former leader has excellent friendly relations with two pupils of Novokuznetsk hockey, Dmitry Orlov and Sergey Bobrovsky, who are successfully playing in the NHL, who in the summer hometown held a master class for the Novokuznetsk ice hockey school. But the most important thing: after finishing last season, Metallurg Novokuznetsk came out without debt for the first time in many years. As evidenced by the public statements of the leadership of the hockey union and reports in the KHL. Probably, "in gratitude" for this, Rokkel was removed from his post.

Unfulfilled hopes

When Zinoviev took the helm of Metallurg, everyone was confident that he would be able to find additional funding for the club. Like, say, his former partner in Ak Bars and the Russian national team Alexei Morozov, who managed to find a sponsor for his native club Wings of the Soviets ... Zinoviev failed to do this - the club was stuck in debt, and not only in relation to companies -contractors. Problems began to arise among the employees of HC "Metallurg". Someone, having a valid contract in hand, has already missed the due salary, and for several months.

It's time to move on to the final part of our epic: today the fate of Novokuznetsk hockey is not even in the hands of Zinoviev, who suddenly returned to the city, where he became a hockey player, to a completely new and unusual position for himself. All power, it turns out, is in the hands of an absolutely non-hockey person from the EVRAZ company. His name is Andrei Denyakin, a member of the board of trustees. He has no official status, indicating that he has not even a direct, but indirect relationship to Novokuznetsk hockey, except for the mentioned social burden. Nevertheless, it is Denyakin, as the plenipotentiary representative of the general sponsor, who today decides whom to execute and whom to have mercy on. What kind of person? It is enough to "google", study the local media to get at least a superficial idea about it.

Andrey Denyakin- anti-crisis manager

The biography of an official of a transnational company is quite curious: he was once the trade union leader of the Kuznetsk Metallurgical Plant, which was part of the MIKOM group (by the way, these were the golden years for Novokuznetsk Metallurg). But new trends burst out, and the Novokuznetsk industrial potential seemed like a tasty morsel for EVRAZ. For a long time Denyakin, together with the disgraced oligarchs of MIKOM, resisted the ongoing redistribution of property, but ultimately surrendered. And he did not just give up - the career of the former trade union leader began to play sharply with new colors - he became either a director or a deputy director of a department or any of the structural divisions of EVRAZ.

But the most memorable, perhaps, were the last appointments. With his coming to the head of the Evrazrud division, a policy of closing unprofitable mines began to be actively pursued. What would happen to the people compactly living in the villages of Khakassia, in particular, the former trade union boss did not care much. The head of the neighboring region, Yevgeny Zimin, offered the Novokuznetsk functionary a deal - to transfer the mines to Khakassia, and not to close them. Denyakin's words, which were then voiced on this occasion at the conference call, were circulated for a long time in the media of the two regions: "I would rather flood the mines than give them to Khakassia." After that, Denyakin had to explain himself - they misunderstood him.

It is clear that the KHL will not allow the team to withdraw from the current tournament, as it regularly happens with clubs in major league... But further ...

Discussions about the most controversial personnel decision in the Novokuznetsk club.

What did Sergei Zinoviev manage to do at Metallurg? The renowned hockey player was appointed CEO in the summer of 2016. He replaced Vladimir Rokkel Jr., who ran the club after his father. Zinoviev immediately outlined his position: the team will grow, but first it is necessary to put things in order in the economic and financial sector. Before the arrival of the world ice hockey champion, “Forge” regularly had debts to contractors (flights, accommodation, even electricity in the arena), periodically debts appeared to the players, but, to the Rockels' credit, let's say that, in general, they managed to keep the club on I float in difficult times. Nevertheless, Zinoviev, together with the general sponsor EVRAZ, initiated a check on the spending of funds. It turned out that some contracts were overpriced (flights), for some reason the managers bought women's pads for hundreds of thousands. During the press conference, Evraz's curator of Metallurg, Andrey Denyakin, noted that when the team was very tight with money, Zinoviev invested his personal money - an excellent example of self-sacrifice. As a result, Kuznya learned to live under a specific budget - EVRAZ allocates to the team about 420 million rubles annually (very worthy by the standards of VHL).

How did Metallurg play under Zinoviev? Disgusting. The team began the season with Nikolai Solovyov, but after a couple of defeats, the general director personally decided it was time to send the coach to retirement (Neftekhimik then gave the specialist a chance, but came to his senses in time). Nobody wanted to become a mentor of “Forge”, a dream of any coach, they had to make do with their own reserves. As a result, Valery Zelepukin ruled several matches, and then Sergei Berdnikov got down to work. In that season, Novokuznetsk rarely saw a game, the team frankly suffered, handing out points to the right and left. As a result, the very last place in the KHL.

Could Sergei Zinoviev save the “Forge” from relegation from the KHL? Anything that is discussed in hindsight, of course, cannot be objective. In order not to leave the league, Metallurg lacked several factors: money, full and preferably new arena, athletic performance... The new head of the club did not have enough time to try to solve all the problems. According to the club employees (seven people were interviewed), Zinoviev spent the day and slept at work, was very worried about the future of “Metallurg”. He began his duties with zeal, he had no selfish interest (fortunately, he earned a comfortable old age for his career), he was his own man in hockey. Let Sergey Olegovich work !!! But they didn't. But why was he fired after?

And why was such a good boss fired? Andrey Denyakin, curator of "Forge" from EVRAZ, has publicly expressed support to Zinoviev on more than one occasion. The head of the club has a difficult relationship with the head of Novokuznetsk and the chairman of the Board of Trustees of Metallurg Sergei Kuznetsov. The mayor publicly declared Zinoviev guilty of expelling the team from the KHL. Kuznetsov, when things were going badly at “Forge”, distanced himself from the club, but when “Bears” took the bronze medal of the MHL, he suddenly turned out to be the most ardent fan, while not counting that there was a merit of the general director. Of course, for the mayor, it is a sacred thing to "hyip a little bit" on something to which he is actually not involved, creating the feeling that, nevertheless, without the troublesome mayor, success would be impossible. Zinoviev was pushed aside from this triumph. You will find only a couple of on-duty interviews, but there are hundreds of quotes from Sergey Kuznetsov. The head of Novokuznetsk, obviously, did not like the independence of Sergei Zinoviev, the unwillingness to follow the lead and the attempt to destroy the system that had been built for years, which fed several hangers-on. We do not claim that Kuznetsov is a member of this system, but it is absolutely certain that pressure from outside on Zinoviev was exerted by people who were once influential in Novokuznetsk hockey. And what about Andrei Denyakin? At EVRAZ it is sent to illiquid production. There, where something is junk. So much so that it is easier to shut down production than to invest in it. Again, we will not undertake to assert that even now EVRAZ is trying to dump ballast in the form hockey team... The holding had a great chance to significantly cut funding for the club this season. But they didn't. Moreover, Novokuznetsk has an anniversary on its nose, the city will turn 400 years old in 2018. Andrey Denyakin attends all the games, he is quite deeply immersed in the affairs of Metallurg. Club employees regularly receive recommendations from EVRAZ top managers on how to make a sports show (they themselves do not know). True, top managers do not know at all that the fan is more attracted to victories.

And what is the bottom line? The main idea is that Zinoviev was "strangled" from different sides. From the outside - the decision of the KHL to exclude Metallurg. From within - the head of Novokuznetsk, who is only the personification of a group of influential people in the hockey city. Sergei Zinoviev is a straightforward man, intrigues, cuts are not interesting to him. It is a pity that we failed to assess the true professionalism of the young functionary. Maybe someone knows the story of Sam Hinky? He was the general manager of basketball “Philadelphia”, created an amazing system that in the future could bring many dividends in sports and financial terms. But for his straightforwardness and "dissimilarity" to the rest, Hinki was fired. There is something similar in these stories. But Philadelphia still uses the assets obtained by the former manager, and Metallurg cannot get anything out of the work of Sergei Zinoviev at all. Incidentally, this is also an indicator of his activities.