GENEVA: The flow of star players to European teams during the NHL lockout could distort national competitions, International Ice Hockey Federation President Rene Fasel said yesterday. Rene Fasel said that he balanced the increased attention for European hockey against potential damage to the integrity of leagues, especially if players return to North America midseason.
“It’s questionable how fair it is to the others (teams) and the whole league system,” Fasel said by telephone from Tokyo, where the governing body has its congress next week.
“The integrity of the game is, for us, something very important. It’s not just business,” the world hockey leader said. “We play the game for the hockey fans but sport should always be No. 1. Sport should also be about fairness to everybody.” Since the lockout started on Sunday, players have turned to Europe to find playing time and salaries until the stalemate between the league and NHL players’ union is resolved.
Fasel said it was good for fans to see stars come home, including two-time MVP Alex Ovechkin to Russian club Dynamo Moscow and New York Islanders captain Mark Streit with Switzerland’s best-supported club, Bern.
“That is very positive, there’s no doubt,” said Fasel, a former Swiss league referee. “Mark Streit never played in Switzerland when he was a junior. Now he can come back and play for a top team as a big star — that’s a great story.” Still, Fasel acknowledged mixed feelings, and that “one eye is crying and the other eye is laughing.” “You have to pay the insurance (for salaries) and we know most of the clubs have troubles with their budgets, so they should be careful,” he said. “There are some teams in Switzerland that will never be able to pay half a million and more to hire these guys.” Fasel said wealthy benefactors would help clubs in some cases “as a present to the fans.” Swiss club Davos has been able to attract San Jose Sharks captain Joe Thornton and New York Rangers winger Rick Nash.
Both played for the Alpine town team during the season-long 2004-05 lockout.
The players’ return should also boost interest in Davos while it and neighboring St. Moritz prepare to ask local voters next March to support their campaign to bid for 2022 Winter Olympics hosting rights.
Just 17 months before the 2014 Sochi Games, NHL players are not certain to compete in the two-week tournament in Russia run by the IIHF.
“Our door is wide open,” said Fasel, an IOC board member who is unopposed to extend his 18-year IIHF presidency in Japan next week. “We are planning as if they will be there. If they are not coming, we are going to play hockey anyway.”
![]()
World hockey leader sees upside, downs to lockout
World hockey leader sees upside, downs to lockout
Formula 1 champion Norris hungry for more glory
- The McLaren driver said that claiming the drivers’ crown had not changed his work ethic or his desire to be regarded a “hunter” rather than “the hunted“
MELBOURNE: Lando Norris said on Thursday that winning his first Formula One championship had only made him hungry for more as he gears up to launch his title defense at the Australian Grand Prix.
The McLaren driver said that claiming the drivers’ crown had not changed his work ethic or his desire to be regarded a “hunter” rather than “the hunted.”
“I’ve probably done the most training and things during the course of the off-season than I’ve ever done,” the Briton told reporters at Albert Park.
“So it’s certainly not the case that I was relaxing more or partying more or whatever it might have been. It was quite the opposite, in fact.
“No, I’m still just as hungry. I think it made me want it more, in a way, because you get that feeling.
“The same as when you have one win, you want another one in a race.
“For me, it was the same feeling as a championship; that one is amazing, but then you definitely want to achieve two.”
Norris won last year’s race from pole after arriving in Melbourne raving about the car’s performance during winter testing.
The constructors champions are less bullish about the MCL40 car’s off-season performance this year, with team boss Andrea Stella saying they were a step behind Ferrari and Mercedes.
Norris’s teammate Oscar Piastri, who led last year’s championship before finishing third, was similarly reserved about their early-season prospects, saying on Wednesday they should not be considered favorites to win in Melbourne.
Norris was more upbeat.
“Even if you’re second, third, or fourth quickest, I don’t think that’s on the back foot,” he said.
“I think that’s still a very good position to start in. And I think in previous years where it’s been harder to improve over the course of a season, we’ve certainly proved that you could.”
This year’s championship has plenty of unknowns due to F1’s major overhaul to chassis and engine regulations.
Ferrari’s seven-times world champion Lewis Hamilton said drivers faced their most challenging season ever as they grappled with the power management demands of the more electrified engines.
Norris said he was still adapting to the changes and would probably continue to well into the season.
“(It will) probably (be) at least a third of the way through this year until we drive different tracks, different tires, different tarmacs, different weather conditions until I can get close to that level of accuracy that I was requiring last year,” he said.
The McLaren driver said that claiming the drivers’ crown had not changed his work ethic or his desire to be regarded a “hunter” rather than “the hunted.”
“I’ve probably done the most training and things during the course of the off-season than I’ve ever done,” the Briton told reporters at Albert Park.
“So it’s certainly not the case that I was relaxing more or partying more or whatever it might have been. It was quite the opposite, in fact.
“No, I’m still just as hungry. I think it made me want it more, in a way, because you get that feeling.
“The same as when you have one win, you want another one in a race.
“For me, it was the same feeling as a championship; that one is amazing, but then you definitely want to achieve two.”
Norris won last year’s race from pole after arriving in Melbourne raving about the car’s performance during winter testing.
The constructors champions are less bullish about the MCL40 car’s off-season performance this year, with team boss Andrea Stella saying they were a step behind Ferrari and Mercedes.
Norris’s teammate Oscar Piastri, who led last year’s championship before finishing third, was similarly reserved about their early-season prospects, saying on Wednesday they should not be considered favorites to win in Melbourne.
Norris was more upbeat.
“Even if you’re second, third, or fourth quickest, I don’t think that’s on the back foot,” he said.
“I think that’s still a very good position to start in. And I think in previous years where it’s been harder to improve over the course of a season, we’ve certainly proved that you could.”
This year’s championship has plenty of unknowns due to F1’s major overhaul to chassis and engine regulations.
Ferrari’s seven-times world champion Lewis Hamilton said drivers faced their most challenging season ever as they grappled with the power management demands of the more electrified engines.
Norris said he was still adapting to the changes and would probably continue to well into the season.
“(It will) probably (be) at least a third of the way through this year until we drive different tracks, different tires, different tarmacs, different weather conditions until I can get close to that level of accuracy that I was requiring last year,” he said.
Latest updates
© 2026 SAUDI RESEARCH & PUBLISHING COMPANY, All Rights Reserved And subject to Terms of Use Agreement.