An Automobile Quandary

The image to the left is Yekaterinburg in the Sverdlovsk region of Russia. It's the fourth-largest city in Russia, and has transformed from an administrative and industrial center into a modern city with all sorts of amenities. Yekaterinburg is home to the KHL club Avtomobilist that was founded in 2006 after replacing Khimik Voskresensk when they ceased operations, and they took their Avtomobilist name from an older Russian hockey club that called the city home. Under Andrei Martemyanov, the team had its best season ever in 2018-19, finishing in first-place in the Kharlamov Division before eventually falling to Salavat Yulaev Ufa in the KHL semifinals.

This season, the KHL playoffs had yet to be concluded, but Avtomobilist suffered a difficult upset at the hands of Sibir Novosibirsk in the opening round of the playoffs despite having exceptional talent such as Pavel Datsyuk, Nigel Dawes, Dan Sexton, and Peter Holland - all former NHL players at one time or another. As a result, the team decided that the shortfall wasn't acceptable and changes were needed.

One major change was announced today as Avtomobilist went out and hired Bill Peters, the former Calgary Flames and Carolina Hurricanes head coach and currently somewhat-disgraced head coach regarding his past behaviours. I find it a little hard to believe that Peters would find himself back as a head coach this fast, but winning seems to be the only thing that matters in Russia. I'm not here to cast shadows on a modern society, but giving Peters a door back into pro hockey this quickly seems quite opposite of progressive. That's just my opinion, though, and I'm sure that "due diligence" was done in this hiring when it comes to everything that happened in Peters' past and how he's handled it since being brought to light. Excuse my stifled laugh.

Joining Peters behind the bench will be former Canadian Women's National Team head coach and longtime NHL assistant coach Perry Pearn, former NHL winger and former KHL head coach German Titov, longtime Russian defender Evgeny Shaldybin, and longtime Russian netminder Konstantin Vlasov. Clearly, Avtomobilist is going for a solid NHL-Russian hockey mix with these five men, but the results on the ice will be the only statistics that matter once the KHL decides to resume play.

Again, I struggle with this hiring because of how Bill Peters has treated players in the past and by his actions in trying to repair the damage he caused by those past treatments. He showed zero remorse when he penned the letter to Calgary's Brad Treliving, and he has yet to apologize to current Khabarovsk Amur defenceman Michal Jordan for kicking him in the back as a member of the Carolina Hurricanes. For a city that is supposed to be modern, Peters' actions towards Jordan and Alim Aliu resemble old-time tactics in the gulag.

I know there will be eyes on Peters as he begins this new chapter in his life and his coaching career. That's the price he'll pay for the rest of his career with regards to his past actions, and there's no avoiding that. Starting over in a place like Yekaterinburg might be the only way he'd ever get to be a head coach again, so maybe this will be the panacea needed for him to show the world that he's still an exceptional coach assuming that he can lead Avtomobilist to a Gagarin Cup or two.

However, until he's made amends for what he's done in the past, I don't see Bill Peters ever getting a shot in North America again. His actions were truly awful, and his so-called apology only made things worse. Until he wins a lot in the KHL and an NHL team gets desperate enough to try and replicate that success, Bill Peters might be a permanent fixture in the KHL for a long while.

Sometimes, winning isn't everything, Avtomobilist.

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!