IL: Teemu Hartikainen explains what happened to the money after the KHL sudden departure

Many Finns had to make a sudden exit from the KHL in the spring of 2022. Russia had started an invasion of Ukraine, and most Finns no longer had the desire to continue in the Russian league.

Teemu Hartikainen was one of the Finns who left Russia in the spring of 2022. He recounted his departure from the KHL in an Iltalehti interview.

– It was quite hectic back then. First, we won Olympic gold, then we went back to Russia, and then the war started. But I had already decided around Christmas that my KHL career was over. In a way, that league had already drained all the energy out of me, and it was time to look for something else. The war accelerated my departure from Russia by a couple of months, Hartikainen says.

– We left quickly from there, as there was no information on whether the borders would close. The uncertainty in that situation was quite agonizing. We foreigners managed to get our families out of the country quickly, but the players stayed there for a few more days. There were about ten Finnish players who then left all at once.

Leaving the KHL naturally meant a significant financial setback.

– The salary payments stopped on the day we left. There would have been three months of salaries that should have been paid. But since we terminated the contract ourselves, the salary payments ended there. And of course, the bonuses for that season were left unpaid, Hartikainen says, adding that he did not have to leave his money in Russia.

– I managed to transfer everything out of there. I anticipated those matters and transferred things out of there in a timely manner. I didn’t leave any money in the bank there.

For the next season, Hartikainen has made a return to domestic ice hockey. He plays for his former club KalPa.