KOZLOV: I COULD MOVE TO KHL

Outstanding Atlanta Thrashers veteran Vyacheslav Kozlov requested a trade as he is set to waive his no trade clause.


"Everything began at the start of the season", the 37-year-old veteran explained. "I understood that I wouldn’t play in Atlanta next season".

"Nobody offend me, but the team slowly drives me out and in general I don’t put blame on someone. I’ve played eight years here, but now I think that it’s time to change the club".

"My contract envisages no trade clause, but I control the situation [player can waive no trade clause in case he is satisfied with the offer of the new club]. If I find a team which I like, I will change the club with pleasure".

"Of course I would like to find a club, which will take part in play-offs and of course which will have European players, mainly Russians, because it’s much easier to play with our compatriots. If not, I will stay here".

"It’s early to quit hockey as I don’t suffer injuries and my health lets me play. I think I will wait for July 1. I want to play in good team with good partners, and I don’t exclude variant of moving to KHL".

"I was negatively surprised when Atlanta managers said after Ilya Kovalchuk’s quit that they hadn’t won any cup match in eight years with this player. Kovalchuk has done a lot for this team and I was hurt by these words. It means that it’s time for me to leave the club too".

"They can be offended by Kovalchuk because he didn’t sign the contract (eleven years and 102 million), but it is his right to do it. It’s a big sum of money and I think that if Ilya made this decision, it is absolutely right".

"Atlanta coach likes playing in four links, while I think that it’s impossible to play the whole match this way as we simply lose the rhythm. Ilya and I tried to explain that it’s necessary to change picture of the game sometimes.

"In order to catch the rhythm it’s better to play in two or three links, but Anderson doesn’t feel it. Maybe he is inexperienced or maybe he sticks to his own directions after he won the cup in AHL".

"I played both in AHL and NHL and these are absolutely different leagues. Not all coaches, who won something with the farm-club, can achieve something serious in NHL, and vice versa".

"Speaking about the Olympic games, I have contradictory feelings. We were beaten by Canada in all respects, but I don’t want to talk only about bad things. All played did their best.

"I see that our team is criticized severely in press, but it’s up to the coaches and managers, not up to journalists, to search for errors. We can say that team failed the Olympic games, but it happened not only because of players’ mistakes, but because of coaches’ mistakes too".

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