The Hockey Club’s Dilemma: Navigating Negotiations with a Controversial Agent

Who can determine the fate of a hockey club? From a coach? General manager? Main star? In the NHL, maybe. In Russia, as a rule, governors, as well as owners of oil and gas companies, act as arbiters of fate. The governor loves hockey – to be a team in the KHL. They pump oil in the country – there will be good salaries for hockey players. These are the realities. But it seems that there has never been a situation in our hockey where the future of the club depends on … an agent.

It was in such a delicate position this spring that Avangard found itself. Three of the team’s top four scorers end their contracts at once. The situation for the manager in any case is difficult. Whoever represented the interests of these players. But the trouble for the Omsk residents is that Vladimir Tkachev, Sergei Tolchinsky, and Arseniy Gritsyuk have an agent – Shumi Babaev. One of the most famous, odious, controversial and simply difficult to negotiate representatives of this business.

The fact that it would be difficult for Avangard to extend all three was clear long before the free agent market opened. Here you have a successful game of each of Babaev’s clients, and Shumi’s categorical position not to negotiate until the end of the season. That is, the price tag for the leaders of the Omsk club grew, and there was no opportunity to play ahead of the curve and agree with them in advance. But all the fears of the fans and leaders of Avangard doubled when Babaev entered the public field.

“Avant-garde general manager Khabibulin told Gritsyuk: if you want big money, change your agent”

“95 million for Tkachev, of course, does not suit me. Of course not. Why should this suit me? Has the holiday come?

“Khabibulin wanted to exchange Tolchinsky. As soon as he took office. He wanted to exchange Tolchinsky, cut Belyakov’s salary and give Mikhailov away. Is this called companionship? I’m the first one he got to.”

These and other quotes, said by the agent on the air to colleagues from Sport-Express, look like a declaration of war. Something similar already happened between Avangard and Babaev two years ago, when, after the championship season, he decided to take Egor Chinakhov to the NHL. The bosses of the Omsk club considered this almost a personal insult.

After Chinakhov’s case, it seemed that Avangard would no longer invite Babaev’s wards, and Babaev would not let any of his clients go to the Omsk club. However, a year passed and Shumi agreed on a new contract for Tolchinsky, returned the Avangard graduate Tkachev from America, and also signed his other clients – Mikhailov and Belyakov. Moreover, he found a common language with the same general manager – Alexei Volkov, with whom he had recently fought.

So it cannot be ruled out that after some time Babaev and Khabibulin will have a nice chat and discuss the signing of another player. However, Khabibulin is just that. O. general manager. He is faced with the task of not only negotiating new contracts with hockey players, but also finding a successor for himself. In the meantime, he runs the risk of breaking firewood, which will have to be raked by a completely different person.

What is the way out of this stalemate for Avangard?

To begin with, it is worth understanding how much the agent wants money for his clients to stay in Omsk. For Gritsyuk, according to insiders, Babaev asks for 110 million for two years. This is 50 and 60 million for the season after the 20 that he received under the old contract. That is a threefold increase in salary. After 80 million, Tkachev is offered 95 – the same as that of the American Reed Bush, Tkachev’s partner in the link. Babaev is not satisfied with this. Most of the questions are about Tolchinsky, but it is obvious that the previous 60 million will not suit the player’s side.

Let’s carry out simple logical manipulations. If 95 million is not enough for Tkachev, then they will definitely arrange more than 100. Most likely, about 120 per season. Gritsyuk was sorted out – there is at least 50. Tolchinsky, judging by the market, should earn about 80 million. And what happens if Avangard agrees to the terms of the agent? About 250 million will go to three players. Cool, and in the case of Tkachev and Gritsyuk also local, but only three. This will automatically cause problems with the salary cap and, as a result, staffing in other lines.

To go along with the agent means to put yourself in a rigid framework, risking exposing the defense, the lower links and the position of the second goalkeeper. Standing in a pose, refusing any negotiations is even worse. Players of the level of Gritsyuk, Tolchinsky and especially Tkachev cannot be found on the market. Three at once – even more so. This means that you have to compromise and make difficult choices. The optimal option for Avangard is the option with the maximum investment in Tkachev – the team’s top scorer, an Omsk player and simply a defining forward. But what about the rest?

It is not easy to choose between Tolchinsky and Gritsyuk. The first one has already brought the Gagarin Cup to Avangard and proved to be a leader. But how much motivation does he have left? Is he ready to stay in Omsk for a long time? The hawks will have to compete for it with SKA, Ak Bars and other top KHL clubs. Moreover, the Siberians have no right to Sergei. Whereas Gritsyuk is a restricted free agent who has not yet reached the design capacity, but at the same time, Arseniy is looking towards the NHL. It will be easier to keep him by postponing his departure overseas for a couple of years.

“Vanguard” in the hostages. It’s worth recognizing. There is no ideal way out of this impasse. The Omsk team will become weaker anyway. The perfect chance to win another Gagarin Cup seems to have been missed by Omsk residents. Could these problems have been somehow prevented? For example, the former general manager of Omsk, Volkov, already had a desire to sign Tkachev not for one, but for three years at once. But the player reasonably decided to play it safe. Whereas to prevent Tolchinsky from entering the market for the first time in his career was, by definition, impossible. “Vanguard” had to take the title, so that parting with the leaders took place under the slogan “the Moor has done his job, the Moor can leave.” Now, in any case, there will be a feeling of understatement.