How did the team management react back then?
E. Malkin: I didn’t give that notice to Velichkin personally but instead, we faxed it and two days later he called me to his office and was very upset. He said: ‘That’s not the way to behave and don’t you ever do it again’ after which, he threw my letter in the garbage right in front of my eyes. How did you react? E. Malkin: I didn’t even know what to do. I didn’t want to start a conflict with Velichkin and didn’t see any kind of solution at all. So you didn’t react at all? E. Malkin: Of course I reacted. I said: ‘I hope we find some kind of compromise and that everything will turn out well’. How did Velichkin explain his displeasure? You were saying that Metallurg promised to let you go to the NHL at the end of the 05-06 season. E. Malkin: Yes, there were promises that they won’t try to convince me to stay and only said that they will leave a chance to negotiate meaning they would offer me some kind of contract so that I could decide what I want to do next on my own. I definitely didn
