Sibir trade Alexei Yakovlev to Torpedo for Alexander Yaremchuk

Sibir have traded forward Alexei Yakovlev to Torpedo for Alexander Yaremchuk, and general director Lev Krutokhvostov says the 31-year-old had stopped making the line-up and asked for a change himself.

Yakovlev, a Novosibirsk native and product of the local hockey school, played 382 KHL games for Sibir and scored 55 points (28+27). It was the first time he had changed clubs. Last season he managed 12 points (7+5) in 66 games. Yaremchuk is 27 and has 106 points (46+60) in 336 KHL games. He scored 13 (5+8) in 49 games last season and has not yet played this year.

Krutokhvostov described how the deal came about.

"Both sides approached this exchange responsibly and with understanding. I hope both teams have gained from it," Krutokhvostov said. "Alexei Yakovlev is one of our devoted fighters, but in the pre-season games he did not look entirely convincing, and he stopped making the line-up this season. Perhaps that is because the younger lads showed themselves better. We met, we talked, the negotiations were held at a professional level. Alexei understands the whole situation himself and himself suggested that he needed to change something. He asked not to be moved onto a two-way contract to get playing time with our VHL partner, Dynamo-Altay. And then the offer of an exchange with Torpedo appeared. Alexei agreed to that offer; perhaps a change of surroundings will do him good. Alexander Yaremchuk is younger, a fast player, creates chances, has good playing qualities. He will give us fresh strength in attack, and we are counting on productive play from him. Yakovlev was more geared towards penalty killing and battling, and we understand that he is a long-serving member of the team, a devoted player. But, I repeat, perhaps the time has come for him to change surroundings. Who knows, perhaps Alexei will return to our club after the end of this season. We shook hands and wished each other success."

The farm club Yakovlev turned down is Dynamo-Altay, who play at the MSK Titov Arena and are 15th in the VHL with no points from 3 games.

It is the second departure of a home-grown forward from Sibir in two days. On 20 September the club released Pavel Tkachenko, 29, an academy product who had not played a KHL game this season.

If Yaremchuk gets into the side quickly, this may show whether Sibir are turning to speed and chance creation up front. Yakovlev's role on the penalty kill would then be the one to watch.