Tick Tock...

Time's running out.

Of course, I only think this plays right into the hands of the Russians who oppose the IIHF transfer agreement. Absent an agreement, the NHL would be crazy to allow Pittsburgh (or any other team for that matter) to either negotiate a deal directly with an RSL team (which is what the Rooskies want BTW) or sign a player under dubious circumstances through the use of legal wrangling (which Malkin has been talking about doing). By letting the clock run out, the RSL knows that the pressure to sign the deal will come to a temporary end. This will allow them to dig their heels in further and make it much, much harder for a transfer agreement to be worked out with terms that the NHL favors.

The losers in all of this? Well the NHL and its fans for one. But the Russian players who not only want to "prove themselves" and make more money lose out as well. Russian players in the NHL could lose if the threat to not to allow them to play in IIHF events is upheld. The only winners here are the RSL owners who will continue to try to extort more $$$$$ from the NHL.

Ain't capitalism grand?????