Music: {allcanada} King recalls eerie conversation with McCrimmon

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During the summer, as Brad McCrimmon mulled over the idea of accepting a head coaching position in Russia, he naturally turned for advice to someone familiar with the territory.

"Brad," said Dave King late Wednesday afternoon, hours after confirmation that the crash of a Russian plane had killed 43 of 45 people aboard, including McCrimmon and most of his Lokomotiv KHL team, "called several times over the past few months and we talked a lot about Russia and coaching there.

"He wanted all kinds of information. He'd read my book (A King in Russia: A Year in the Russian Super League) and he said, 'Kinger, tell me about Pterodactyl Air.' "

"I told him, 'Brad, the one thing I've got to be honest and tell you is the one that made me nervous over there was the charters. Because the planes are older, it's old equipment and I honestly don't know how sound some of it is.'

"We talked about it a few times. How uneasy I was. How uneasy (King's wife) Linda was."

King spent a season coaching Metallurg Magnitogorsk and he saw first-hand the state of the Russian aviation industry.

"You get a car that's 30 years old and, well, there's been a lot of changes in performance of cars in 30 years. It's ironic now, but we both kind of laughed about that topic and I told him, 'Hey, it's an interesting experience, and this just adds to the adventure.'

"I can't believe, today, thinking back to when were joking about it. I'm so sad. Feel so sick."

When the former Calgary Flames head coach heard news of the crash of the Yak-42 plane, which had just taken off from an airport near the city of Yaroslavl, 240 kilometres northeast of Moscow, surprise wasn't the first sensation that washed over him.

"No. I wasn't surprised. Not really. But I was absolutely in shock. I coached Igor Korolev, he was my playing translator my year in Russia. What a guy. What a wonderful guy. And, of course, Brad and I were good friends for a long, long time. I've known him since he was 12 or 13 years old in Rosetown (Sask.). I know his mom so well, his brother Kelly. I played with his dad.

"So I'm taking this very, very hard.

"You say to yourself, 'Oh my God, this can't have happened.' But then you start to reminisce on your own experiences over there."

King made a point of emphasizing that he didn't want to be "super-critical" of the situation without more than sketchy information.

"This could happen in any country. To think it couldn't happen in Canada … it certainly could. You look at the Marshall football team in the States, the Roughriders in the '50s.

"But in Russia …

"I don't know what kind of plane they were flying in, I don't know how old it is, I don't know if it was pilot error, but their record is 12 or 13 times higher for aviation problems than any other country. Every year we read about a major accident or two in Russia. That's the way it is.

"I'm just telling you from my experience they always made me nervous.

"They were so outdated. You'd see planes and say, 'What the heck! This plane … when was it built?' In the early '80s, it looked like. Built in a different format inside than our planes are today. You just realized this plane is really dated. You wonder how many miles it's got on it and the other thing is you don't know about the servicing of these things.

"The Russian air industry has got some problems. The major airlines can land anywhere they want in Europe, but there are some Russian airlines that can't fly internationally because they won't accept their planes.

"For years and years, there was no need for charters. The government officials chartered Aeroflot. With everything changing, the charter industry started to grow and, of course, with hockey charter companies started to realize a market."

The Kontinental Hockey League, King knows, will be reeling from the catastrophe.

"This wiped out a whole team in a league that's trying to get better. I give the Russians credit. They've done a great job in so many, many areas. The games are better. They've got a players' association.

"This is a big setback for everybody in Russia. That's a terrific organization. It's one of the top organizations in Russia and it's gone. Gone. This will be a shock to their system. Really.

"If anything, they can find some solutions and mandate more modern aircraft."

But, as always in tragedies of this magnitude, it's the human element that cuts.

"The last time Brad and I talked, Aug. 3, before he was set to leave for Russia, he was so excited, so pumped about the job and its possibilities. You know what I liked most about Brad? When the lockout was on, he didn't go on vacation like a lot of guys. He went overseas and coached. He went to work. He was curious about coaching. Serious about coaching.

"It's almost unfathomable.

"Both Linda and I are very sad today. It's just a sad, sad day."