Varlamov talks
In this interview to Pavel Lysenkov of Sovetsky Sport Varlamov talks about his contract negotiations and whether he did 'late nite filings' with Ovechkin in Denver, Colorado (July 10, 2011). Here are some excerpts:
Semyon, why you didn't sign a new contract with the Capitals? Can you tell how the negotiations went with Washington?
They started after the New Year. I did not agree with all the proposals of Washington, they wanted to sign me for 2-3 years. I didn't like the variants of the contract. As a result, the issue was delayed until summer. I was comfortable with that situation. I was thinking about hockey, talked to my American agent Paul Theofanous. He'd say, "All right, the contract will not go away from you."
When did you realize that you won't reach an agreement with the Washington?
By the end of the season I thought, "I need to change something in my career..." We couldn't get the right contract. The three seasons with Capitals were not the easiest. I was constantly getting small injuries. I wanted to start a new season fresh.
Did you ask for a trade?
There were talks about it. But back then Washington didn't want to trade me. When I realized that, I started to think about the KHL. But ideally I wanted to stay in the NHL. My dream was to play in this league. It was too early to return to Russia at the age of 23 years old.
Have you talk to Ovechkin and Semin, your friends from the Washington Capitals after the trade?
Alas, no. Apparently nobody knows my new phone number. That is, no one got through. (Varlamov's laughing).
But Ovechkin was in Denver on the same day you had the press conference with Colorado!
Really? I didn't know that. I'd definitely talk with Sasha. But it's true, I had no time to spare. I flew to Denver for half a day, spoke to reporters and immediately went back to the airport. I'm now in Hershey where I work out with a fitness trainer. After that I'll go back to Samara [Russia], where I'll train more for a couple of weeks. Will skate with CSKA VSS. After that I'll fly back to Denver on August 15th. Will work on where I'm going to live, etc. And then I will start on ice training with the local trainer. After the press conference was over I've got an immediate call from Joe Sakic. He now works as Avalanche's executive director. Sakic wished me luck and said he was glad to see me with the team. And when Patrick Roy called, I was really stunned and happy. Such hockey players, but no wonder, so many wonderful players were in Colorado! Patrick chatted with me, he talked how his career took shape in Denver, said that I made the right choice and that this was a great city that was home to wonderful fans. Roy said that I would love to play in Colorado.
Do you feel bad that there are no Russians in the team?
To have fellow countrymen in the team is very cool. I've spent a lot of time with Syoma and Ovi in Washington. I will miss them. But you have to see the advantages in everything. There are no Russians? Ok, then I'm going to speak better English, I will learned the language to speak fluently.
Are you curious who'll be the number one goalie in Washington, Michal Neuwirth or Tomas Vokoun?
It would be the one who'll show up himself better in the first half of the season. But it's not my business to talk about the Capitals. Now I have to think about Colorado.
Source: http://www.sovsport.ru/news/text-item/467821
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16 comments:
Varlamov is his own man. Of this there can be no doubt.
ya it seems every interview just makes me dislike him as a person more and more. wish him all the luck in colorado but I am so glad he got traded. i think the team will be better our goalies will be better and i just feel so much better now.
wanted a trade, wasn't going to happen so he wants to run to the KHL....definately don't need a person who can even contemplate that on the team.
Varly sounded very bitter in his answer to that last question. Very revealing. It sounds like he gave up on trying to win the starter's position and just wanted it handed to him. There is no reason to think he couldn't have gained it during the 2nd half of the season if he were healthy or at least during next season.
It also sounded like he was impatient with how NHL contracts are set up (ELC then RFA) so that teams don't lose their draft picks too soon after putting a lot of development into the players.
And about the Caps' goalie situation next year, he could have wished Neuvy luck since supposedly they got along well.
Hwe makes it sound like his time in DC had few good moments.
He has some growing up to do. Gain some perspective and generosity of spirit.
Also interesting, what was Ovie doing in Denver if he wasn't there for Varly? It didn't sound like Varly was joking when he said he hadn't seem Ovie.
I think people are too hard on him. He wasn't having the best work after three years, first was good but he struggled with both injury and without. He's commented highly on the staff, fans, and players and said pretty much no hard feelings.
He said nothing of being treated badly(and is angry with agent for saying such things) and wishes the best to team.
It just wasn't his fit. If you're in the same spot you're in after three years and there is more potential behind you(Holtby wont be AHL forever, Neuvy developed a lot), would you stay? He pretty much gave open net to let Neuvy and Holtby play. I think the last question was how he answered if he will start- it depends on who is better, but no use thinking on it now.
I honestly and personally think he handled the interviews very well. I know where you're coming from, but I honestly don't think it's like that. He is his own person and needed a change. Simple as that.
What can you say though? He can't really go on about Washington too much in an interview about going to another team.
@O In my opinion Varly isn't being bitter at all. I watched his press conference in Colorado and listened to a podcast of the interview questions, and he also didn't want to answer questions about the past there. He has turned his attention to the future.
Read the Slava Malamud interview of Varly for more information.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/capitals-insider/post/former-washington-capitals-goalie-semyon-varlamov-i-was-mentally-tired-after-these-three-years/2011/07/10/gIQAQgNA7H_blog.html
Varly clearly says he knew that he could still compete and win the job in Washington. For whatever reason, he was ready to move on from the Caps for a change in scenery. In the Russian version of the interview, he says he wouldn't ask for a starting guarantee.
Varly has nice things to say about Caps fans in the WP interview.
What comes through loud and clear is that Varly did not want to be a Cap. No matter what money or term was offered to him by McPhee, Varly wanted out of the organization. He helped raise a stink to force matters and McPhee managed to salvage the situation. McPhee treated him well despite the KHL threat.
He wanted things his way and he got it his way. It's easy to throw out a nice word or two when you get waht you want.
I think you're looking at it the wrong way. He said nothing against the organization, he just said he didn't want to be a Cap anymore. It wasn't fitting him.
The KHL can't be counted as a threat when he said he didn't want to re-sign. He didn't think he would get traded or signed elsewhere. The who drama about him signing with SKA was his AGENT, not him. He's actually very pissed at his agent for the things he said.
I just think you're taking it the wrong way, he's not a bad guy. People leave organizations. Are you mad at Andrew Gordon for not re-signing?
I'm sure if Semin left next year, to the KHL, you'd all freak out despite many people saying he should be traded.
I'm also sick of people saying the KHL is a shitty league when most people haven't even watched it. Yeah, they have major flaws but they have fans and players just like the NHL and it's good hockey. I do hate SKA though, who have always seemed to like buying players.
@Anonymous
If Varly hadn't been traded, he made every indication that he would go to the KHL instead of stay with the Caps. His own words reveal that. He might be angry at his agent's words, but not at the result. It served its purpose.
As for Andrew Gordon, his situation is nowhere near the same circumstances. He is an AHLer trying to break in to the NHL. He was a UFA not an RFA. He was in an organization that was stacked with talent in his position and that made it highly unlikely he would see regular time at the NHL level. (Varly was an NHLer with a high level of talent and the only thing keeping him from locking in the #1 spot was his health.) The organization, as they have done before (Alexandre Giroux more recently) gave him an opportunity to find a team where he had a better chance at making the "big time" roster.
Also, when handling departures from a team that has treated you well, for true professionalism and a touching balance between sadness at the departure, but hopefulness for the future see: A. Gordon, E. Fehr, and M. Bradley. All sound more genuine than Varly's comments to English language and Russian language media. No dust was created, therefore, no dust had to settle. They did it the right way from the start; Varly is playing catch-up.
Varly is immature, a bit selfish, and has expectations that are unreasonable at this stage in his career. All of that came out during the drama of his contract negotiations. A few nice interviews after the fact change nothing. They sound nice. They are meant to sound nice. He is out of the Caps, has a nice position with the Avs. His NA agent did some damage control, emotions settled. Maybe now Varly will start gaining perspective.
As for Sasha, he has nothing to do with this discussion or situation.
As for the KHL, most people here see it as it is: less than the NHL, but 2a or 2b in the world. We don't think it's "shitty," but we are aware of its problems and posturing.
I agree with Yulina. I think he has handled himself just fine. Remember that we will most likely never know what actually went on in the negotiations between Varly and his agent and the Caps.
It sounds to me like he just wanted a fresh start. Between his injuries and the three goalie situation I think he just wanted to break away and get his head back on straight. Sometimes when a player leaves it's not so much anyone's fault as it is a situation of the player just not fitting there anymore. And I just think Varly thought that he wasn't a fit anymore. And I don't that's an insult to anyone, and I don't think it means that he quit. People act like he is giving up by leaving a strong team like the Caps and "battling it out", but I think it also takes guts to take on all of the new responsibilities in Colorado and really try to improve a team that finished 2nd last in the league.
He has said nothing but good things about the organization and their fans, and I believe that these are honest statements. Do any of you follow Slava Malamud on Twitter? He has done an excellent job covering the Varly situation and clearing up all of the rumours. Considering he actually speaks to Varly personally, I tend to trust his judgement the most out of all the other writers.
@shex: That's exactly what I was talking about. He even said he was not wanting to go to KHL, but didn't think a trade would come through.
I think in his mind he just wanted a fresh start. It very hard to keep positive with a team when previous years haven't gone so well because of injury or not but not only that, with Holtby and Neuvy being so good, even if he had good years it is very competitive and not the most comfortable when two people same age, roughly same talent and ready to go.
It is better when you have a more foreseeable future. With Colorado and Giguere, he will either be backup or starter and noting Giguere's past season, Varly will probably be able to hold starting position and have better career.
It is honestly nothing against Washington and you have to be able to understand this. People need different things. Why are you being so bitter towards him?
And everybody who care about Russian players NHL or KHL should follow Slava Malamud. He talks to a lot of players personally and is a writer, like shex said, a very trustable one compared to many.
There are way too many Varly apologists ready to forgive and forget once he says some nice things in standard interviews after he has a contract with a new team in hand. (oh, see, Varly's nice. He really is. He had nothing to do with the contract problems.) B.S. He wasn't a passenger during the contract drama. His words verify that.
His remembering that DC wasn't a bad place doesn't exonerate him from his grumblings in the last half of the season, not refuting or at least quickly and publicly distancing himself from his Russian agent's rants, or using the KHL as a threat. He didn't come across as professional or mature until it was all over.
@Yulina,
I am not bitter. I am angry. I am angry that he put the Caps in this situation. I am angry at the tactics used in his contract negotiations.
So he wanted out of Washington. Fine. There were better ways of accomplishing it.
It angers me that people are praising Varly for his professionalism now that he has given a few interviews. It is too little, too late. The credit needs to go to the Caps' GM and Varly's N. American agent. They found a livable solution and mopped up the mess and Varly comes off smelling like roses.
O, you sound really angry at Varly and convinced you know exactly what happened. Some of us really liked Varly and choose to think more positively about him. I don't think we know exactly what happened between him and the Caps. I think people are free to either dislike him as you do or give him the benefit of the doubt. We don't all have to feel the same way about him.
Personally, I prefer to give equal weight to Varly's statements as McPhee's statement and Ted's lame shots at Varly in his blog. But you can disregard them, I just think it's good to realize that not everyone agrees about him, nor do we have to agree. Personally I am confused why people are so angry at him. Everything turned up roses for the Caps getting the two draft picks for him and Vokoun for peanuts. Varly wanted out of DC for whatever reasons and is happy in his new situation and looking forward. I think we should all do that, the past is the past. Hate him if you want to though, but I'm going to still be a fan.
Let me first say, I respect your right to your opinion on Varly, but I am happy to disagree with you. We have no way of knowing what really went on, but from what I understand he was offered a (multi-year, decent $)contract before the end of the season and rejected it. What happened after isn't known, but there wasn't much going on between the two parties. He didn't really leave them dangle or make them suffer like you're making it seem. He was traded July 1st, the first day of FA, leaving lots of time. There was a trade in place a week before, but was withheld on McPhee's account to secure a position for Varlamov. Classy act on McPhee's part all the way.
Yes, he was explore other options (KHL), but he was covering his back. He has stated he didn't expect them to trade his rights and didn't expect anybody to sign him(based on flight risk?), but said the NHL was always his top priority.
The reason why the KHL was a big deal is because the bad press there(partly due to his russian agent) had said he signed, when in fact the team that had "signed" him had NO right in any way to do so because Lokomotive owned his rights. So, him signing was false and if he was close to a deal that is different, but doesn't really matter.
Jaromir Jagr was close to a deal with Detroit, Pittsburgh and signed with Philly. Let me be the not first to state that you can't truly trust Russian agents. They want the most money from you and they'll create a media buzz to get it. That is why Pittsburgh AND Detroit dropped out, because there was a -presumably- false bidding war for him.
In Varly's case, it is not illegal for a FA to negotiate with other leagues and when you have an idea you're not going to be in your current league, you sure as hell don't sit around. When McPhee prompted him with Colorado, he jumped at the chance to play in the NHL and PROMISED to stop negotiations with the KHL, which he did.
I know I may partially be bias as I am from Europe origionally, but I honestly think people are too hard on Russian players when nobody says shit about player like Stamkos for being greedy. He's got it made in Tampa and is letting this pool over on because he wants too much money. Any real player would accept less for such a chance but players today are becoming more greedy. If Stamkos is worth this much, Ovechkin and Crosby made huge mistake signing long-term. Could be making millions more today and not even have to play half contract. Alot of these contracts are Americans and "threaten" to leave or go to different team if not mett the needs of.
Um, my opinions of Varly aren't based on a few interviews he did this week, they're based on everything that I have come to know about him over the years, my own personal experiences with him, and statements made by those that know him well.
Just because some choose to look at all of this in a negative like doesn't mean that some of us aren't allowed to look at it positively.
I agree with Shex, my opinion of Varly is based on a few years of knowledge. He was always a decent person before and well liked. I find it hard to believe that he suddenly morphed into another kind of person over the contract negotiations. I choose to keep liking him.
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