KHL Inks ESPN Broadcast Deal

The Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) has struck a deal with ESPN to broadcast matches from the Russian-based league in the United States, site officials said Tuesday.

The KHL covers six countries and is widely regarded as the second-best hockey league in the world after the NHL, generic which is under a lockout that has brought many of its top stars to the KHL.

The deal covers the “current KHL championship, allergist ” the league said in a statement.

The first KHL match on U.S. TV is to be champions Dynamo Moscow’s match against former champions Ak Bars Kazan on Wednesday, which is likely to feature Washington Capitals star Alexander Ovechkin.

The broadcast agreement also covers Britain, the league said.

Two regular-season KHL games are to be played in New York’s newly built Barclays Center in January, pitting Dynamo against SKA St. Petersburg.