Glasnost between KHL and NHL? Medvedev says honor NHLs decision for first time

Medvedev Says K.H.L. Will Honor N.H.L. Decision on Hudler

Is peace breaking out between the K.H.L. and N.H.L.?

In his first public statement on the international dispute over Detroit forward Jiří Hudler, K.H.L. president Alexander Medvedev sounded a conciliatory note, saying on Thursday that the Russian league would wait for an N.H.L. arbitrator’s decision on Hudler’s status with the Red Wings before registering the contract the player signed with Dinamo Moscow.

Medvedev made the remarks in Zurich after a meeting with I.I.H.F. president René Fasel, telling the Russian daily Sport-Express that the K.H.L. “will not register Hudler’s contract, pending the outcome of the N.H.L. arbitration.”

Medvedev, citing the good will generated by the Atlanta Thrashers’ decision to withdraw an offer from Joel Kwiatkowski because the defenseman already had signed with SKA St. Petersburg, vowed Thursday to work with the I.I.H.F. to uphold the “gentlemen’s agreement” between the two leagues not to poach players. That vow, he said, included awaiting the N.H.L. arbitrator’s decision on Hudler’s Detroit contract.

Hudler took the Red Wings to salary arbitration late last month, then signed a two-year deal with Dinamo on July 8. The N.H.L. argues that by taking the Wings to arbitration, Hudler chose to stay with Detroit should the arbitrator find in the Wings’ favor or should the Wings agree to pay what Hudler asks. The I.I.H.F. agreed to the N.H.L.’s request not to issue a transfer card to Hudler, effectively preventing him from playing for Dinamo.

Hudler’s arbitration hearing is scheduled for July 31. Should the arbitrator rule for the Red Wings’ bid, believed to be for $3 million a year, Medvedev’s statement indicates that the K.H.L. would honor the decision and not register Hudler’s Dinamo contract. But if the arbitrator rules for Hudler’s bid, believed to be for $4 million a year, the Red Wings would have to choose between paying Hudler that amount or letting him go. That, presumably, would open the way for the K.H.L. to register the Dinamo contract and allow Hudler to join the old Interior Ministry club.

Hudler made $1.15 million last season with Detroit and turned down a multiple-year offer that would have paid him $3 million annually. After filing for arbitration, he accepted a $2 million-a-year offer from Dinamo that is reckoned to be worth $5 million per season in North American terms after factoring in tax breaks and benefits.