Ex-NHLer Viktor Stalberg tells wild story about being traded in Russia — then not — by legendary coach

The sports world is full of stories about players who almost got traded, but you don't hear many like the one ex- NHLer Viktor Stalberg experienced during a stint in Russia's Kontinental Hockey League, which also involved a legendary tough coach.

Wait ... a strange story from the KHL? What?! Stalberg spent eight seasons in the NHL and won a Stanley Cup with the 2013 Chicago Blackhawks , and while his last games in the league were with Ottawa in the 2016-17 season, he continued to be a high-level player in European leagues.

Eventually, he signed with KHL club Avangard Omsk, which, at the time, was coached by Bob Hartley, best known for winning a Stanley Cup with the 2000-01 Colorado Avalanche on top of being a very tough coach.

"I had a lot of interesting experiences," Stalberg said of his time in the KHL during a video interview to promote sportsbook Ozoon .

"I also had Bob Hartley as a coach there, which I'm sure you've heard stories about.

He's a brilliant hockey mind, but he might not be the easiest to handle.

When I was there, we did not maybe click at first." THE CRAIG CARTON SHOW–UNFILTERED, UNAPOLOGETIC AND UNMISSABLE.

DOWNLOAD HIS DAILY PODCAST NOW! He said that it became clear that he was not one of Hartley's favorite players on the team, and he was told by his agent that he was going to get waived by the team.

But it didn't happen, and he was told his status with the team was safe.

"My agent calls me again," Stalberg recalled.

"'Hey, Bob really hates you.

He does not want to play you or anything else this year.' That this is the deal.

Like, 'He's gonna just bag-skate you for the rest of the year, right?'" So, Stalberg asked for a trade, despite having a no-trade clause, and the team cut a deal with the then-Shanghai-based club Kunlun Red Star.

"I call the GM [in Shanghai].