Having lost the final to Metallurg with a score of 0-4, yesterday’s favorites faded into the shadows. “Lokomotiv” was literally promised the Gagarin Cup. They have been working towards this for many years, gaining experience and making headway. It seemed that Igor Nikitin’s team was becoming stronger with each round. But instead of the last confident step – a loud fall, a roar of disappointment, devastation. Nowadays they hardly talk about hockey Yaroslavl. On all pages of Magnitogorsk, Razin and his young guard. We will try to bring a little balance to this news agenda.
Despite the deafeningness of the final failure, we must not forget that this season for Lokomotiv turned out to be successful and even breakthrough. Almost until the last days of the regular season, the Yaroslavl team claimed the Continental Cup. But what is much more important than this cup is that the “railroad workers” began to beat their direct competitors on an ongoing basis. First of all, from CSKA. And later this habit carried over to the playoffs, where the same CSKA was thrown overboard in the first round.
Lokomotiv advanced through the playoff bracket so confidently that Nikitin’s players began to be called robots, following the example of CSKA players. Whether someone likes this comparison or not, the precision of the movements and the strictness of the system left no room for other associations. The victory over the army team was largely symbolic. As you know, the winner of a dragon becomes a dragon himself. The series with Avangard was sent to the Yaroslavl team in order to lose concentration, then regain it again and calmly win the seventh match. 4-0 with Traktor looked like the quintessence of the power of this team. As it turned out, this was her peak.
What happened to Nikitin’s team in the final is a big and painful topic for Yaroslavl. Some people are already talking about the “curse of the sweep.” Traktor, after the same 4-0, received a 0-4 return from Lokomotiv. Then in Chelyabinsk this was explained by a week and a half downtime and improper preparation during this pause. But the successes of the black and whites were largely due to the courage and cohesion of the team. Whereas Lokomotiv has a stronger foundation, which should not have allowed the house to fall apart like it was a card house.
The factor of excessive downtime could really have an effect, but only for one, maximum two matches. Then Lokomotiv’s ignition actually didn’t turn on. At low speeds, and even with a conservative model, it was only tolerable. They couldn’t stand it. And when the situation came to a head, the “railroad workers”, instead of a deep rollback, showed their trademark pressure. However, this time it was the execution and straightforwardness that let us down. And in overtime of game No. 3 they were frankly unlucky. But what next?
— Does Lokomotiv’s championship window remain open? — Igor Nikitin was asked immediately after the lost final.
– It depends on how the guys are in the locker room now. If they are satisfied that they were finalists, that’s a problem. If it sucks in the pit of your stomach or shakes your heart, then no. I told them the same thing– the Yaroslavl coach answered the journalists.
A year ago, after another defeat from CSKA, Nikitin said that Lokomotiv needed to clean up. The purge ultimately consisted of parting with Yegor Korshkov and a couple of other players. What changes might happen this time? The contract of the team’s highest paid player, Maxim Shalunov, who did not play in the finals and his performance hardly corresponded to his salary, is ending. Theoretically, the main veterans of the team, Sergei Andronov and Yegor Averin, whose performance in the series with Metallurg could hardly suit anyone, could also leave. Lokomotiv’s only foreign player Martin Gernat is entering the market, as well as all goalkeepers except the first number Daniil Isaev.
In the case of Shalunov, Yaroslavl residents face a dilemma. On the one hand, he is a proven and top sniper, on the other hand, he is unlikely to agree to a reduction in his contract. Without him, the roster will become more workable, and with him there will be no room left under the salary cap. Should we part with Averin and Andronov? Only if Nikitin and the leadership believe that their leaders have grown up. Ivanov and Kayumov adopted Andronov’s leadership qualities – then it’s time to release the current captain to a well-deserved rest or to another club. As for Gernat, it’s time for the Yaroslavl team not only to retain the Slovak, but also to work more actively on the foreign market.
If we don’t talk about psychology, but rely on the progress of the players and the terms of their contracts, then the championship window for Lokomotiv, of course, has not closed. Perhaps this ending just opened it up for him. “Coyotes” Simashev and Booth will not leave for the NHL for at least another season. Kayumov abandoned his overseas dream and signed a three-year contract. Maxim Berezkin grew into a real monster. Nikulin and Likhachev will certainly develop. Almost all defenders are on contracts, including long-term ones. There is already a home-grown top goalkeeper in Yaroslavl. What else do they need to win?
Nikitin spent a long time and methodically knocking the psychology of losers out of Lokomotiv players. It was like a real therapeutic course lasting three seasons. Defeat in this final can be seen as another test. Like a crash test unplanned by the coach. You need to survive it and move on without turning around. On the rails. But it seems that for real success, Lokomotiv still needs to change, albeit a little. Both on the ice and in the media.
With their victory, Metallurg made it clear that the KHL has changed. Now the trend in the league is towards freedom of hockey thought and attacking style. Razin’s team did not always fly headlong forward, but despite all their flexibility, the “steelworkers” were not enslaved. They, unlike the “railroad workers,” did not look like slaves of their own system. And the fact that Lokomotiv shuns any media activities and protects players from the press is transmitted from top to bottom. Old-fashioned management protects the players, and they inevitably feel enslaved, which carries over to the game.
Open up, Lokomotiv! Relax, Yaroslavl! And everything will work out. It’s not for nothing that Razin said that he was worried in Saratov, when he was getting out of the ass of the Major League. And in the end he has fun, in the end people get high. Nikitin’s team, alas, only knows how to work.
Read more materials about Lokomotiv
