Soviet Hockey Renews Threat to Cancel U.S. Tour

The president of the Soviet Ice Hockey Federation today renewed threats to cancel winter exhibition games in NHL cities because of the signing of Sergei Fedorov by the Detroit Red Wings.

But federation President Leonid Kravchenko left intact plans by the Montreal Canadiens and Minnesota North Stars to hold training camps in the Soviet Union and to play eight exhibition games Sept. 12-19 in several Soviet cities.

The official news agency Tass reported today that the federation’s executive committee decided Tuesday night to reconsider calling off the North American tour. Earlier Tuesday, two top officials said the Soviet Union cannot simply open its borders and allow players to leave because most of its stars would be gone in a flash.

Tass quoted Kravchenko as saying the executive committee wants immediate talks with the NHL to resolve the controversy over Fedorov and to ensure that no more Soviet players are signed without the federation’s consent.

“The executive told me and First Vice President Yuri Korolev to immediately begin talks with NHL representatives and continue them at the September congress of the International Ice Hockey Federation in Italy,” said Kravchenko, who is also the general director of Tass.

“At the talks, we will submit several Soviet legal documents that were intentionally or non-intentionally ignored by the other side and demand that it (the NHL) take into account our laws and guarantee it will comply with them in the future,” he said.