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With some of the big names signing in the KHL, Alex Ovechkin is still on the market. Some of us thought that today, Alex Ovechkin's 27th birthday, he would get a nice present in the form of a contract in the KHL.

But nothing has happened yet.

Just recently, his alma mater Dynamo Moscow was making strange noises about not bringing him on board for the lockout. And that's after the club employed Ovechkin as its "official advisor" a couple of years ago even though it is tough to say if the relationship is still ongoing.

Gleb Chistyakov, his Russian agent, said:"CSKA and Dynamo Moscow have interest in us. The negotiations are still ongoing.  And there's nothing concrete that can be disclosed to the newswire."

But one thing is clear: Ovechkin thinks the NHL lockout may take an entire year and if it does, he will spend that year in the KHL.

Said Ovechkin, exclusively to Pavel Lysenkov and Sovietsky Sport: "If the League [NHL] continues to insist on their [demands], then it will take a full year. That's because we are not going to cave in.  Then I will spend the entire season in the KHL. It's an absolute reality."

GettyWill Sidney Crosby play in the KHL during the NHL lockout?

His Pittsburgh Penguins teammate Evgeni Malkin believes it's a possibility, and Crosby himself said he's considering playing overseas if the NHL work stoppage is lengthy.

Metallurg Magnitogorsk of the KHL has signed both Malkin and Sergei Gonchar. According to Gennadi Velichkin, the team's vice president, more players will be on the way — and they've had some early contact with Crosby's representatives.

"We had no doubts that we would sign Malkin and Gonchar," Velichkin told Sovetsky Sport's Pavel Lysenkov.

"It was floating in the air. We were saying for a long time that if Metallurg was to invite someone for the duration of the lockout, then it would only be the players we developed.  There was one defenseman among them, who everyone guessed would be Gonchar.

"Last night we spoke with [Toronto Maple Leafs forward] Nikolai Kulemin's agent. I hope that in the coming days we will see the forward in Magnitogorsk.  Nikolai is in Toronto right now, but if everything comes together, he will leave for Russia on the next flight."

Getty ImagesThe KHL has announced the official change to its Regulations concerning signing players with NHL contracts for the duration of the lockout in the NHL.

The document will become effective on the day the NHL announces the lockout, and will be in force until the NHL officially announces the end of the lockout. The change to the Regulations is designed to cover players who have NHL contracts, excluding those who have two-way NHL contracts and are assigned to the minor league by their NHL clubs for the duration of the lockout.

KHL's Hockey Operations Vice President Vladimir Shalaev said the following about the change:

"Our clubs are getting an opportunity to enter into contracts and to put on their rosters no more than three NHL players, and these players can be included above the established limit of 25 players.  Of the three NHL players signed to a contract by Russian KHL clubs, there may be only one [foreign born] player.  And it cannot be just any foreign born player, but one who meets one of the special criteria that was set in place to ensure only top level players come to the KHL."

The new regulations are, shall we say, quite specific.

Getty ImagesOne year ago today, hockey fans around the world were shocked and touched by a tragedy.

At 4:05 p.m. local time, a Yak-42D plane carrying 45 people crashed at takeoff at Yaroslavl airport. The entire Lokomotiv Yaroslavl hockey team was killed and 43 people, in total, perished. One player, Alexander Galimov, had survived the crash, but suffered burns on 90 percent of his body. He would succumb to his injuries five days later at a local hospital.

The day after, the KHL announced that Lokomotiv would be rebuilt.

Getty ImagesA few weeks ago my KHL source told me that the League was trying to work out how to accommodate a possible NHL lockout without making any groundbreaking changes to the League's regulations. There were a few KHL managers who didn't even want to make any concessions for the lockout. Other general managers expressed concerns regarding the potential for a damage to team chemistry because a player coming from the NHL for a short period of time would inevitably take a spot of someone who is on a permanent contract.

But the temptation of being the lucrative market for world's best hockey players to play hockey during the lockout is just too great. And today with the likes of Wayne Gretzky and Mark Messier in town to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the Summit Series and play two charity games, the KHL announced that it will make changes to their own rules. SovSport's Pavel Lysenkov passed on KHL President Alexander Medvedev's words:

First of all, any KHL team will be allowed to sign up to three players from the NHL for the duration of the possible lockout in the NHL. Of the three, one may be from any country other than Russia.

Furthermore, none of these "lockout-long" contracts would count towards the KHL salary cap, which is a "soft" cap to begin with.

At the same time, the KHL rule allowing only five non-Russian born players per team to be on the roster for any given game will remain. The rule only applies to teams based in Russia (the KHL is, after all, not only a Russian league).

With countries like Sweden no longer an option in Europe for NHL players, the KHL is trying to make itself more attractive to world stars. Medvedev also tries to play to NHL player's advantage. Asked whose side he is on in the current CBA dispute Medvedev said: "I talked a lot with the PA chief Donald Fehr, and he described the players' position to me. I think the League is trying to be too tough on players. And it is at least unfair."

Getty ImagesWith the first anniversary of the Lokomotiv plane crash tragedy next week, a few prominent people in Russia, including hockey players, are holding charity events to raise money for the families of the victims.

On Wednesday afternoon, Team Kovalchuk and Team Malkin played a charity game in Moscow that ended in a friendly draw 14-14. After the game, Evgeni Malkin gave some intriguing quotes regarding the potential NHL lockout.

"I didn't organize this event as it has been held for the last three years," Malkin told SovSport's Pavel Lysenkov. "I am only here to substitute Ovechkin [who is at the U.S. Open in New York]."

Here's Malkin's chat with Lysenkov:

Q. For the last week the media has been discussing where Evgeni Malkin will play in case of a lockout…

MALKIN: "It's been said a hundred times that the lockout hasn't been announced. Why make any statements for nothing? Yes, I have an agreement — I will play for [Metallurg] Magnitogorsk. But I have not signed a contract."

Metallurg vice president Gennadi Velichkin said that his club owns your rights.

"There are no rights. But that's my city. Why leave?  I don't want to create a negative atmosphere around myself. It's important for me what fans think and say about me. Everything that's dear to me is in Magnitogorsk — family, friends…  I hope that I will play at home and the lockout will be over by the New Year's."

Dynamo let everyone know that they are not ready to pay Ovechkin a lot.

"I believe that Metallurg won't turn me down…"

Getty ImagesDynamo Moscow president Arkadi Rotenberg made news over the weekend when he said Alex Ovechkin "wasn't necessary" for his reigning KHL champions, should the Washington Capitals star head to Russia during an NHL lockout.

That's after Dynamo GM Andrei Safronov told SovSport on Aug. 23 the following:

"To invite Alex, we need to negotiate for him to be like a flag for the club. But to pay crazy salary is wrong. It's better to invest that money in the [Dynamo] youth sports academy."

Why make those statements? Rotenberg told SovSport his reasons, and told them to Ovechkin's mother as well:

"I think we don't need Ovechkin. I even spoke to his mother. She called when she didn't understand the article.

"His mom clarified: 'Should he play for Dynamo for free and you will finance the youth sports academy with that money?'  But the point is in something else. When Safronov asked me about Ovechkin, I told him 'We will not try to outbid for players. It's better to spend that three million [dollars] that they would spend [on Ovechkin] on children. They are our future.'

"Alex's mom asked: 'And if he wants to play for another team where he would be paid differently?' I replied: 'Fair enough. But personally I am not prepared to spend money on it.' "

In Russia or in the NHL, it's all about the money.

Getty ImagesNew Jersey Devils star Ilya Kovalchuk holds out hope that there will not be a work stoppage that delays the 2012-13 NHL season — but time is running short.

"Right now the player union and club owners have absolutely different views of the future. If we are told the decision must be made tomorrow, then there will certainly be a lockout," Kovalchuk told Sovietsky Sport. "But the CBA expires only on Sept. 15. And I don't know what's going to happen in three weeks."

Kovalchuk added that he already has a team in mind where he will play if there's a lockout. Something tells me it will be Lokomotiv. Kovalchuk will fly to Moscow this Friday from his Miami home and will play in a charity game this coming Sunday in Kazan to benefit the families of the Lokomotiv tragedy.

SovSport's Pavel Lysenkov spoke with Kovalchuk about the NHL's offer to the player, the overall CBA negotiations and the impact of contracts such as his on the next CBA.

Q. NHL's offer is very aggressive. Ilya Bryzgalov called it "impudence" in a recent interview. What is your reaction?

KOVALCHUK: "I cannot say it's a shock. But it is difficult to agree with those who are fighting with the NHLPA. Eight years ago, owners of NHL teams got everything they wanted during the last lockout. They feel comfortable and think they will win again. But there's a big difference between 2004 and 2012. Right now a lot of guys have long-term contracts. These are leading players, faces of the League. Look at how dynamic the negotiations with the NHL are. Players are a lot more united than before. And it means that the position of the NHLPA is stronger, and the negotiations will be tougher for the owners."

You signed a contract with the New Jersey Devils until 2025. The League wants to make all contracts to be no longer than five years. Will it affect you?

"It is understood that the existing contracts cannot be trimmed. But the NHL says that players circumvent the cap, sign deceitful deals where they will make very little towards the end of the contract. The League wants to protect itself from it. On the other hand, the owner himself is offering such deals. A player doesn't put a gun to the owner's head. And you have to think when you're signing a big contract. Hockey players lost a lot already after the 2004 lockout. Something remained, but now they want to take away even that. I think the League won't be successful at that."