Finnish club Jokerit, Latvian team Dinamo Riga withdraw from KHL amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine

Amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine, two international teams have opted to distance themselves from the primarily Russian Kontinetal Hockey League. On Friday, Finnish club Jokerit withdrew from the upcoming KHL postseason. On Sunday, Latvia’s Dinamo Riga has taken it a step further. The club has announced that it has withdrawn from the league entirely.

Riga, which did not qualify for the playoffs this season and could have waited to take a stand, instead decided to make its position soundly known. “The decision to withdraw from KHL has been made, thus expressing a clear position of the club management,” the team announced, as relayed by The Hockey News’ Ian Kennedy. “In such a military and humanitarian crisis, we do not see any opportunity for cooperation with the Kontinental Hockey League.” The team representing Latvia has decided to stand with Ukraine, a fellow former Soviet nation.

With this as an example, Jokerit could soon follow suit and fully withdraw from the league, especially given the media and sponsor pressure the team faced to cancel its playoff participation. While Riga’s future is currently unknown having been a member of the KHL since 2008, Jokerit could easily return to the Finnish Liiga, where it played prior to moving in 2013; perhaps it could bring Riga along with them. Kazakhstan’s Barys Nur-Sultan, China’s Kunlun Red Star and Belarus’ Dinamo Minsk represent the three non-Russian teams remaining in the KHL, but there has been no anticipation to this point that any will follow the lead of Riga and Jokerit.

This is just the beginning of how the invasion of Ukraine could have a trickle-down effect on the hockey world, as the IIHF is considering sanctions on Russia as well as Belarus, called upon by Switzerland but since echoed by Latvia. In response, the KHL is rumored to be considering a lockout of all import players. This is not the last that of this story by a long shot.