how will the russian league effect nhl2k9 rosters

[KINGJAMES]

it would suck if jager who was on the rangers is not in the game along with some others who have defected. i guess i dont blame him 35 mill for 2 yrs what that equals in real money is still more than he would get here.

[kingbrehm]

I would assume that the defectors would be gone from the game; but 2k will probably keep their names in the database where you can create them easily again. That does suck that Jagr probably wont be in the game; but who knows maybe he'll be a free agent in the game....

[NYIJK10]

whether or not he's a free-agent depends on whether or not he is still in the NHLPA, which I don't think he is. His name will definately register in the create-a-player database and he'll still be on the 92 penguins, however you'll have to edit his name in if he's not in the NHLPA

[mpack47]

He'll probably be on the FA list....heck Kenny Jonsson has been in the Swedish league for 4 years and he's still on the FA List.

[NYIJK10]

yes, but Kenny Jonsson is still in the NHLPA, if Jagr leaves the Players Association they won't be able to use him as a FA in 2k9.

[NYIJK10]

He'll probably be on the FA list....heck Kenny Jonsson has been in the Swedish league for 4 years and he's still on the FA List.

Yes, but Kenny Jonsson is still in the NHLPA, if Jagr leaves the Player's Association they won't be able to use him as a FA in 2k9. (its all legal stuff, this is the same reason that we have to edit the player names on all of the old teams every year)

[mpack47]

Yes, but Kenny Jonsson is still in the NHLPA, if Jagr leaves the Player's Association they won't be able to use him as a FA in 2k9. (its all legal stuff, this is the same reason that we have to edit the player names on all of the old teams every year)

I wouldn't have known Kenny Jonsson was still a member of the NHLPA.

[macpuck]

If anybody ever needs names to fill in rosters from the past, just ask for whatever you need in this space because I have easy/quick access to rosters from any NHL team from 1968 on ...

[RoadDoggFL]

Will do. I really hope roster updates don't erase player renaming on historic teams...

[macpuck]

Hopefully, the two companies will create some new categories. Up until now, a lot depended on who was still a dues-paying member of the NHLPA and who did or did not file retirement papers. Remember a couple of years ago when Alexander Mogilny kept showing up on New Jersey's roster, even in the updates? He didn't come to training camp, he didn't leave Europe all year, etc., etc. but there he was ...and it made a difference in the strength of the Devils' lineup. I'm afraid there will always be roster blunders.

[NYIJK10]

Where do you have those rosters Macpuck? is it all in one place or do you just google it?

[macpuck]

I was a sportswriter who covered the NHL for 26 years and I kept almost all the guides from those seasons and so I can just look up whatever you need. My memory -- I'm over 65 -- isn't so good anymore but I do remember some of the better team lineups from the past. It's just last week I have trouble with .I suspect all of that kind of infor is available from NHL sources or through The Hockey News but I don't know how you would go about accessing it.

[NYIJK10]

wow, you must have seen a lot of great games back in the late 80's/early 90's!!! That's sweet that u still hav all of that info.

[macpuck]

It was an interesting 26 years and some of the greatest games I witnessed involved the Islanders in those dynasty years.

[CellFish]

it would suck if jager who was on the rangers is not in the game along with some others who have defected. i guess i dont blame him 35 mill for 2 yrs what that equals in real money is still more than he would get here.

I figured I had to comment on this. I, for one, welcome the competition the Kontinental (Russian) Hockey League offers to the NHL. The success of the KHL could have a number of positive effects in my opinion:

1) allow European hockey players to stay on their continent and make the KHL the de-facto European Hockey League and the NHL the de-facto North American hockey league, opening the door for a yearly North America vs Europe all-star game.
2) allow the game to continue in the off-season through a sort of Champion's League as in soccer, where the best teams of the NHL, KHL and other European league compete for the biggest international prize, therefore increasing the game's prestige.
3) allow aging players who have been deemed of questionable use in either league to find a place in the other and bring with them valuable experience and knowledge to improve the game

Those are positive effects in the real game, but imagine how this could affect the game that we play as well. Suddenly, everyone will want to buy the game, not just people in the US, Canada and a few European countries.

[Grandmaster D]

^^There is a lot going for letting hockey grow in Europe and give it a more international touch (in the past and at the moment, international club games have very little meaning).
By october, the new CHL - Champions Hockey League - goes in it's first season. It is moddeled after soccers Champions League and I expect a lot of it.
It is intended that the best clubs in it will compete with Stanley Cup winner and maybe the runner-up for the Victoria Cup one day. That cup will also see it's premier this year, in a one game only, but the NHL is not that interested and doesn't sent it's champ (Magnitogorsk start on the euro side as reigning ECC winner - a small european competition that is now replaced by the CHL). And the Rangers see it as just an exhibition game - at least it's a start.

I think the KHL will alway be a east-european thing; they try to lure west european teams into it, but failed so far. It's more appealing to clubs with no real league competition in the east. The best teams also qualify for the CHL.

You can find some infos here. (http://www.iihf.com/home-of-hockey/club-events/champions-hockey-league.html)

[vanhalendlrband]

Yea if i see Artem Chubarov on the Canucks one more time, i'm gonna flip. The guy hasn't played here or been under contract with the team in years.

[macpuck]

He probably hasn't filed his retirement papers, which really isn't necessary until a player starts to approach retirment age. The rosters are filled with players who shouldn't be there. There are even some players who have the wrong pictures assigned to them. There are other players whose pictures were presented in the game two or three years ago but the headshots were mysteriously unavailble for NHL 2k8. Attention to roster detail isn't one of 2K's strong points.

[macpuck]

My gues is that Jagr will be in the game, maybe on the Ranger roster, maybe as a free agent .... or, hopefully, in a new category. Again, he hasn't filed his retirement papers and so he still has status, even though he is a free agent, in the NHL. I would imagine that the same goes for Straka and a lot of other players but it will be interesting to see how the game companies categorize them. When I asked a 2K spokesman (the infamous Christian) why Mogilny was still on the Devils' roster a few years ago, he told me that 2k keeps popular players around even after they have left in order to avoid criticism from the fans. ???????????? In other words, he didn't have a clue.