Multiple teams leave the KHL in protest over Russian actions in Ukraine.

It would appear as though the ongoing conflict between Russia and the Ukraine will have a major impact on the sport of hockey internationally, and could even end up weakening arguably the largest, and perhaps the only, competitor to the National Hockey League.

The first team to make the move was the Finnish based Jokerit which pulled out of the Gagarin Cup playoffs, the Kontinental Hockey League's equivalent to the Stanley Cup playoffs, which they were scheduled to begin on the 1st of March. Jokerit has instead opted to suspend the remainder of team's 2021 - 2022 season and it would appear as though a legend of the NHL was behind the difficult decision.

Former NHL star Jari Kurri currently serves as the chairman of the Jokerit organization and he released a statement following the decision that made it clear the current actions taken by Russia in the Ukraine were the motivating factor behind the move.

"My position on the end of the season was clear right on Thursday morning," said Kurri via Jokerit's official website. "However, in accordance with KHL policies, I had to have discussions with the league. That is why we are unfortunately only able to report this now."

"The world is going through really difficult times right now. All our thoughts are with the people suffering from the situation. We hope that a peaceful solution to the situation can be found soon," added Kurri.

It would appear as though the stance taken by Kurri and Jokerit may have inspired other teams in the league to follow suit, with a second announcing on Saturday morning that they would be moving away from the Kontinental Hockey League. According to a report from European hockey analyst Aivis Kalnins, Dinamo Riga of the KHL have just announced that they will be withdrawing from the KHL and all of its structures moving forward.

Dinamo Riga is based out of Latvia and it now appears as though the Latvian government will be taking a strong stance against the nations of Russia and Belarus as far as participation in international sporting events is concerned. The Latvian Hockey Federation released a statement on Saturday morning stating that they intend to appeal to the IIHF in the hopes of seeing the Russian Hockey Federation and Belarusian Hockey Federation, as well as their officials, suspended from IIHF.

The Latvian Hockey Federation, in a joint initiative with other world hockey federations, will appeal to the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) to suspend the Russian Hockey Federation and the Belarusian Hockey Federation from the International Ice Hockey Federation, while suspending all influential Russian and Belarusian officials , committees and other bodies.

While I can certainly understand why these teams and governing bodies have taken the steps that they have in response to the actions of Russia in the Ukraine, it is important to remember that the athletes who will be impacted by these decisions are not necessarily aligned with the decisions of their governments.