Wings' Joey MacDonald Could've Joined Lokomotiv, Crash Could Deter Future Players From Signing With KHL

Red Wings backup goalie Joey MacDonald was considering signing this summer with the KHL's Lokomotiv, the team that was all but wiped out in a plane crash on Wednesday.

MacDonald ultimately re-signed with Detroit and will play in Grand Rapids this season, but was prepared to make the jump to the KHL if things didn't work out here. Lokomotiv was one of the teams that showed interest.

"I talked to Rusty (Salei) and Beast (McCrimmon) over the (past) year about going over," MacDonald said. "I’m speechless. "It’s tough, especially with me talking to (Lokomotiv) in March. If I would’ve known (McCrimmon and Salei) were going over there, I probably would’ve signed with them"

Three people with Red Wings ties were killed in the crash: former assistant coach Brad McCrimmon, who was Lokomotiv's head coach, defenseman Ruslan Salei and goalie prospect Stefan Liv. In total 43 people perished, leaving just two survivors who are both in critical condition.

Questions have swirled around the cause of the crash, including concerns about older aircraft in Russia. The Yak-42 aircraft carrying the Lokomotiv team was built in 1993, but the design itself dates back to the mid-1970s. The Red Wings themselves just changed to a different plane, Redbird III (a McDonnell Douglas MD-81 that was built in 1981, Redbird II was about four years older). Former Wings goalie Manny Legace revealed many Russian players dislike flying, something that might stem from aviation standards in Russia:

"There are a lot of guys that hate flying. Amazingly, a lot of them are Russians," Legace said. "Iggy (Larionov) didn't like to fly. Pav (Datsyuk) doesn't like to fly. Sergei (Fedorov) didn't like to fly. It's weird. Maybe (it's their flying experiences in Russia)."

New Wings defenseman Mike Commodore said he wouldn't like flying on a plane that's 30-35 years old (which ironically is exactly what his new team's plane is).  Legace would still consider the KHL, albeit a little more carefully now. MacDonald seems like his mind is made up and he won't be entertaining offers from Russia anytime soon:

"Probably not, because my wife is kind of freaked out about it, especially when it was one of the teams I had talked to," MacDonald said. "It would be a tough decision."

Former Red Wings Defenseman Ruslan Salei Killed In Plane Crash

The plane crash on Wednesday involving the KHL team Lokomotiv killed three people with connections to the Red Wings: former assistant coach and player Brad McCrimmon, former goalie prospect Stefan Liv and former defenseman Ruslan Salei.

Salei's death was confirmed earlier in the day by the general manager of the KHL team Dinamo Minsk. Before the news was confirmed, there were conflicting reports about Salei's whereabouts and if he was on the plane that crashed. Some reports stated he was already at the team's destination and wasn't on the plane, whereas other reports placed him on the list of the people who died.

Unfortunately, the reports stating that Salei was killed in the crash turned out to be the accurate ones. He, along with 42 others, were killed in the crash. Two people initially survived the crash, but both people are in critical condition and there have been reports that Alexander Galimov, a player, has since passed away.

The other survivor is a reportedly a flight engineer, meaning essentially the entire Lokomotiv team has been wiped out by this tragedy.

Plane Crash Kills Former Red Wings Assistant Brad McCrimmon

Detroit Red Wings head coach Mike Babcock has confirmed that former assistant Brad McCrimmon was on the plane that went down in Russia on Wednesday. McCrimmon was killed in the crash, as were more than 40 others. Most of the people killed in the crash were members of the KHL team Lokomotiv, which McCrimmon coached.

Currently it has not been confirmed if former Red Wings defenseman Ruslan Salei was on the plane. Salei plays for Lokomotiv, but there are conflicting reports about his whereabouts. Some state that Salei was already at the team's destination, whereas others are saying he was on the plane.

It's worth noting that SovSport in Russia is reporting that Salei is on the list of people who were killed in the crash (via Dmitry Chesnokov). Originally his name was absent from the list, but he is now on there. Nothing has been confirmed in the United States about Salei, but the Russian outlet reports that he was on the plane and has died.

Below is video of Babcock and Nicklas Lidstrom addressing the media about this news.

Plane Carrying KHL Team Of Former Red Wings Ruslan Salei, Brad McCrimmon Crashes

The KHL team Lokomotiv was involved in a deadly plane crash on Wednesday in Russia. The team is coached by former Red Wings assistant Brad McCrimmon and has former Red Wings defenseman Ruslan Salei on its roster.