Given that so many Russian NHL'ers have signed lockout deals with KHL teams, the Globe and Mail's Eric Duhatschek decided that it was time to give North American fans an insight into the strange world of oligarch sponsors and the last bastion of communist era executives. He did so by speaking to both former SKA St. Petersburg coach Barry Smith (see also: Red Wings assistant coach) and Sport-Express's North American correspondent, Slava Malamud, and Smith perfectly explained the way of the world in what is still the "wild, wild East":

Embarking on its fifth full season, the KHL is a more mature league now, but given its far-flung geography, has no one-size-fits-all character, says Barry Smith, who coached SKA St. Petersburg between 2008 and 2010 after winning five Stanley Cup championships as an NHL assistant with the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Detroit Red Wings.

“There are so many different personalities of the league because each city is so different in what they offer and what the possibilities are,” Smith said in a telephone interview. “It’s almost like the old days in Canada, where every town had a factory or business which ran the team. It’s very similar there. If you go to Magnitogorsk or Severstal, it’s steel. If you go to Neftekhimik, it’s chemicals. Traktor is heavy machinery. None of the teams make money. There’s no business model that says, ‘if we sell this many tickets or land this many sponsors, we’re going to break even.’ They’re not even close.”