Report: Larionov to join SKA St. Petersburg as Director of Hockey Operations

From Jeff Klein of the NY Times:

Hall of Famer Igor Larionov has agreed to become the director of hockey operations for SKA St. Petersburg, the KHL club owned by league president and Gazprom export CEO Alexander Medvedev and coached by U.S. citizen Barry Smith, the Russian daily Sovietskiy Sport is reporting.

According to the report, Larionov will sign a two-year deal with SKA upon his arrival at the St. Petersburg airport on Sunday afternoon, at which point he will meet with reporters. Soon after, according to the report, he will join the team at its training camp in Finland.

Read the entire report from Slap Shot here.

Larionov was rumored to be a candidate to join Scotty Bowman if he had taken over the Leafs last season. While that clearly didn't come to fruition, Larionov has opted to stay in Russia and take a managerial position at home. I'm sure there were NHL teams interested in his managerial services, so this is a great hire for the KHL.

Igor Larionov belongs in Hall of Fame

From Jeff Marek of CBC:

I’ve never hid the fact that Igor Larionov is one of my favourite hockey players to ever lace up a pair of skates.

The talented Russian centred one of the most dominant combos in the history of the game, the dreaded KLM line consisting of himself, Vladimir Krutov and Sergei Makarov. To watch this talented trio play “puck-on-a-string” was to marvel at three players who instinctively knew where each other were at all times. It was easily the dominant line of the 80s and one of the finest ever internationally.

In his prime, there were few who could approach the skill level possessed by the native of Voskresenk, Russia.

Here’s how Wayne Gretzky described Larionov: “He saw the ice the same as me, passing the puck, hockey sense probably as similar to me as any players who has played the game.”

Read more from Marek here.

There is no question in my mind that Igor Larionov belongs in the Hall of Fame. Remember, it is the HOCKEY Hall of Fame, not the NHL Hall of Fame. Larioniov's accomplishments internationally and in the NHL should be considered as one. Additionally, his accomplishments off the ice (mentioned by Marek in this piece), only add to his resume. If he doesn't get into the Hall this time around, then something is wrong.