 The Canadian embassy in Moscow learned of the Soviets ' interest in a series initially through reading an article in the Soviet Izvestia newspaper in the winter of 1971 – 1972 . Diplomat Gary Smith , responsible for sport and cultural exchanges with the Soviet Union , read that the Soviets were looking for a new challenge in ice hockey . Smith met with Izvestia sports editor Boris <unk> initially , then followed up with a meeting with Soviet hockey boss Andrei Starovoitov . The Soviets divulged that they were ready to play in a series between its national team and Canadian professionals . After the meetings , Canadian ambassador Robert Ford passed the matter to Ottawa to negotiate a series and Hockey Canada was given the task to nail down the terms for a series . 
