Two players, Lyubimov and former New Jersey Devil Ilya Kovalchuk, said the Olympics was either the main reason, or one of the reasons, for going to the KHL. In 2018, only players who play in European championships and the KHL can compete there,” Kovalchuk said July 9, via CSKA Moscow. After the NHL’s decision, the Russian Hockey Federation said on April 5 that one of its goals was to bring back Russian hockey players from the NHL so its players could compete in the Olympics. The first is to keep KHL players in Russia instead of moving to the NHL in the summer. It’s unknown if players who are under contract, such as Alex Ovechkin, will defy the NHL and play in the Olympics anyway.

Source: thestar July 12, 2017 22:52 UTC