It was a mistake.
An understandable and uncharacteristic mistake for a management team that has hardly put a foot wrong in three years on the job — but a mistake nonetheless.
By now you know that Canadiens GM Kent Hughes travelled to Russia in December with amateur scouting director Nick Bobrov and consultant Vincent Lecavalier to see prize prospect Ivan Demidov play — which he did, brilliantly. They also posed for a photograph with Roman Rotenberg, head coach of SKA St. Petersburg.
In normal times, the trip would have been routine. Demidov, the forward taken fifth overall in the 2024 draft, is not simply the Canadiens best prospect — he’s rated as the best prospect not currently playing in the NHL. By all accounts, Demidov is a transformative player whose impact can lift an entire team. The club obviously has a significant stake in his development.
Demidov, however, is not the issue. The issue is Rotenberg himself. Rotenberg is the son of Russian oligarch and billionaire Boris Rotenberg, a powerful associate of Russian President Vladimir Putin, architect of the vicious war on Ukraine that has been going on for nearly three years now.
When asked at a press conference Wednesday why the trip was essential, Hughes said he has no regrets.
“I believe we’ve been criticized more on the political side of things,” Hughes said. “For us, it’s about work.”
Friday, the Canadiens made clear through spokesperson Chantal Machabée that they were unaware of the fact that Rotenberg is No. 490 on the Canadian sanctions list, which would prohibit a number of specific business interactions between Canadians and Russian individuals. (Rotenberg’s father Boris is number 40 on the list and several other family members appear as well.)
“Kent didn’t know Roman Rotenberg was on a sanction list,” Machabée said. “We didn’t do any business with him. Kent went there to talk to Ivan and to see him play. Nothing but a scouting trip.”
That’s an important point because if specified business transactions with a sanctioned individual are involved, punishment for the Canadians involved can include fines and even jail time. There is no provision directed at a scouting trip to see a prospect in action or to discuss his progress with the coach. And while there is a Canadian directive advising Canadians not to travel to Russia, such travel is not forbidden.
I support Jeff Gorton, Hughes and coach Martin St. Louis in everything they are doing or trying to do. It is my considered view that together, they represent the best management team the Canadiens have had since the early years of Serge Savard’s tenure and possibly since Sam Pollock.
But in this instance, the intense focus on hockey necessary to build a competitive organization in a 32-team league may have blinded Hughes to the wider implications of the visit to Russia. Team officials on a scouting trip may have no reason to believe they were violating any Canadian laws — but when you’re dealing with the Russians, it’s best to tread with great caution.
Like the Saudis and the Chinese, the Russians are adept at “sportwashing.” The Australian Human Rights Institute defines it as “the use of sport to redirect public attention away from unethical conduct.” It’s the process of using sport as a giant scrub brush to cleanse the public image of nations whose abhorrent behaviour toward their neighbours (Russia) or toward dissidents within their borders (Saudi Arabia) has brought international condemnation.
Sportwashing is behind the repugnant circuit of greed known as LIV golf. It’s why Cristiano Ronaldo is playing out his career in Saudi Arabia. It’s why the IOC was discredited after it awarded the Sochi Olympics to Russia in 2014 and allowed China to host not once but twice.
Understandably, the Ukrainians have the most clear-eyed view. The statement the Ukrainian Embassy in Canada provided to The Gazette is precisely on point:
“When the whole democratic world stands united against Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine … it is appalling to see visits and interactions with sanctioned Russian individuals, which is not only illegal but immoral.”
“In Russia, sport is not outside of politics, but is one of the industries used to support the war. We are deeply disappointed that citizens of Canada — a country that truly cherishes human rights and a rules-based order — are neglecting these core values.”
Next month, the IIHF is to rule on whether to allow the Russians to compete at the 2026 Olympics in Italy. It’s highly unlikely that the federation will rule in their favour but the Russians will argue (whether it is true or not) that they have the support of the most renowned franchise in the history of the game.
The trip to Russia hasn’t altered my view that Hughes is a brilliantly competent GM. In his view, he was simply doing his job — a vitally important job, given the potential of the player involved. In a different world, that would be enough.
When you’re dealing with a country whose leader has launched a brutal and utterly unjustified invasion of a neighbour and is responsible for the deaths of 12,300 civilians in Ukraine, however, you ignore the political dimension at your peril.