KHL

[HabsRuleForever]

One of Russia's greatest players may be returning to the ice in the Kontinental Hockey League this week.

According to Dmitry Chesnokov of Yahoo, SovSport is reporting that Sergei Fedorov will play for CSKA Moscow against Metallurg Magnitogorsk on Friday.

The 43-year-old Fedorov is currently the general manager of CSKA Moscow, the team he turned pro with in 1986.

Fedorov retired in 2012 after playing three seasons with Metallurg Magnitogorsk.

The former Detroit Red Wing also had NHL stints with Anaheim, Columbus and Washington.

[habby4ever]

So does this mean Sergei Fedorov will be in good enough hockey shape to play in the NHL Winter Classic alumni game?

The 43-year-old general manager of the KHL’s CSKA Moscow, best known for winning three Stanley Cups with the Detroit Red Wings, is apparently coming out of retirement to play for his struggling team, according to Pavel Lysenkov of Russia’s Sovietsky Sport. Lysenkov says Fedorov will play Friday, though no contract has been signed (as a player).

CSKA Moscow is 5-3-0-7 thus far, seventh in the KHL West, so perhaps Fedorov is looking to give his team a boost.

Fedorov, a center, retired last year after playing for the KHL’s Metallurg Magnitogorsk from 2009-12. His last season in the NHL was 2008-09 with the Washington Capitals. He played for the Red Wings from 1990-03.

Fedorov has since become GM of CSKA Moscow following his retirement. Red Wings star Pavel Datsyuk played for CSKA Moscow during last year’s NHL lockout, scoring 36 points in 31 games.

The Red Wings are hoping Fedorov will be available for the NHL Winter Classic Alumni Showdown on Dec. 31 at Comerica Park; he was set to play in it last year before the lockout forced the festivities to be rescheduled to this coming winter.

Whether he plays in it is still up in the air, but it’s worth noting that CSKA Moscow has a break in between games on Christmas Day and Jan. 3.

[MkGee]

How much help can Fedorov be to his team at age 43 he hasn't been playing pro hockey like Selanne has, So i can't imagine him turning around his team.

[habby4ever]

The KHL's Disciplinary Committee issued a notice over the weekend saying that due to the huge up trend in "players sustaining serious injuries as a result of boarding, kneeing, attacks from behind and attacks to the head," that it would be doing something about it.

"This is an alarm bell we cannot ignore," committee head Valery Kamensky said, which is something Bettman and Co. would never say about this kind of thing ever.

Now, the KHL says it "will be far more severe" when it comes to supplemental discipline on hits that cause injury. The latter issue is a bit sticky, because suspending to an injury itself isn't necessarily the best idea, but the intent behind the move is a very good and commendable one.

It would be nice to see the NHL follow suit, particularly when it comes to repeat offenders.

The fact of the matter, of course, is that the NHL probably won't or even can't start throwing down bans in excess of more than five or six games. The NHLPA would throw a fit, and besides, the CBA has so many player protections built into it in this regard — and almost exclusively in this regard — that they'd all just get appealed down anyway. There should be a three-strike system, maybe five strikes, but that's the only way guys like Max Lapierre and Kaleta and even Alex Edler (who you'll recall went knee-to-knee on Eric Staal over the summer) is ever going to learn.

The KHL shouldn't be in front of the NHL on any player safety issues, and yet here we are. The European giant saw a problem and is now moving to address it. Its North American superior has mostly just thrown its hands up.

"What can you do?" isn't a good enough response. "What should we do?" is a good starting point.