This week, the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) witnessed several high-profile transfers. These include Nikolai Kovalenko`s return to CSKA, where his father once played, as well as former “Army Men” leaders finding new teams, and Spartak adding an American defenseman. This article presents an overview of the most significant transfers.
Mikhail Grigorenko. From SKA to Traktor
The roster of Chelyabinsk`s Traktor has been bolstered by the arrival of three-time Gagarin Cup winner Mikhail Grigorenko. He won all his championship titles with CSKA, often playing alongside Andrei Svetlakov, who moved to Traktor a year earlier. In 2023, Grigorenko was even named playoff MVP. The only final CSKA lost with him on the roster, Mikhail missed due to his overseas stint. Last summer, when Svetlakov joined Traktor, Grigorenko chose SKA. However, like Sergei Tolchinsky, he did not play out his contract in St. Petersburg, despite his statistics at SKA being comparable to his last season with CSKA. SKA terminated the contract with their second-leading scorer, and Mikhail promptly signed an agreement with the “black and whites.” Traktor`s general manager, Alexei Volkov, acquiring a player with such championship experience and a powerful shot, has taken another significant step towards building a championship team.
Maxim Mamin. From CSKA to Dynamo Moscow
The strategy of “signing CSKA leaders to become CSKA themselves” is well-known in the league. This approach brought success in Yaroslavl and was attempted in St. Petersburg. Now, former “Army Men” are actively being gathered in Chelyabinsk, and Moscow`s Dynamo is also showing interest in players who have repeatedly lifted the Gagarin Cup. Maxim Mamin spent his entire career with CSKA, progressing through all levels of the club system. He only twice briefly left for North America, missing the 2022 championship season. However, three years prior, his precise shot against Avangard`s net secured CSKA the gold medal. Dynamo signed Mamin, despite a less successful experience with another long-serving CSKA forward, Anton Slepyshev, a year earlier. In his new team, Maxim could take on the role of either a tough bottom-six forward like Pavel Kudryavtsev or a sniper like Dmitry Rashevsky.
Mikhail Naumenkov. From Salavat Yulaev to Torpedo
Mikhail Naumenkov, another player with a CSKA past, also changed teams last week. Unlike Mamin and Grigorenko, he left CSKA much earlier and won only one Gagarin Cup with the Moscow team – their very first. In the middle of the 2020/2021 season, Naumenkov was traded to Salavat Yulaev for Nikita Soshnikov, and he had played in Ufa ever since. With the Ufa club, he served as an assistant captain and twice recorded over 20 points. Now, Naumenkov aims for an even more significant role in Nizhny Novgorod. Despite Torpedo having power play maestros like Robert Nardella and Bogdan Konyushkov, the 32-year-old newcomer to Sergei Isakov`s team appears to be a ready-made defensive leader.
Nikolai Kovalenko. From San Jose (NHL) to CSKA
Grigorenko, Mamin, Naumenkov – all these players, who were the main figures in this transfer week, previously worked under Igor Nikitin, and some even reached their potential thanks to him. Now, Nikolai Kovalenko is set to experience something similar. Having played extensively under Igor Larionov`s free-flowing hockey, he will need to adapt to a more structured style. The son of the “Russian Tank” is moving to the club where his father began his professional career. It was to CSKA that Andrei Kovalenko moved from Nizhny Novgorod in 1988, subsequently becoming a world hockey star. Now, the rights to Kovalenko Jr. have also gone from Nizhny Novgorod to CSKA. Nikolai spent last season in the NHL; while things went reasonably well in Colorado, he never truly settled in San Jose. It`s time to return to Russia.
Louis Domingue. From Hartford (AHL) to Sibir
Sibir, a hockey club from Novosibirsk, has found a new partner for their goaltender Anton Krasotkin. After unsuccessful negotiations with Denis Kostin, General Manager Viktor Merkulov was searching for another netminder and ultimately chose Louis Domingue. The KHL welcomes an unusual goaltender with a right-hand catch, who has over 150 NHL games under his belt. His most successful years were spent in Arizona, but for the past four seasons, Domingue primarily played for farm clubs. In the last championship, Louis played only one game for the New York Rangers, with the other 28 for Hartford. Russian clubs had reportedly shown interest in the Canadian goaltender for several years, but the 33-year-old netminder only now decided to make the transatlantic journey.
Pierrick Dubé. From Hershey (AHL) to Traktor
Traktor has signed a one-year contract with a player named Dubé, but it`s not Dillon, who spent last season in Minsk, but Pierrick Dubé. This Lyon native has become the fifth French hockey player in KHL history. It`s worth noting that only Stéphane Da Costa has left a significant mark on the league`s history, accumulating nearly 500 points in 10 seasons in Russia. Can Dubé even slightly approach his compatriot`s achievements? At 24 years old, he has three games for the Washington Capitals and two championship titles—in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League and the AHL. Notably, he won the Calder Cup with Hershey alongside Logan Day, and now they will play for the same team again. In Traktor, the French newcomer is expected to compensate for the loss of Maxim Shabanov, as Dubé is a similarly undersized yet extremely tenacious forward.
Ty Smith. From Carolina (NHL) to Dynamo Minsk
Steven Kampfer`s decision to retire triggered a ripple effect in the KHL. To replace their defensive leader, Traktor acquired Jordan Gross, Dynamo Minsk`s most productive defenseman, who scored 40 points last season. His move from the Belarusian capital to Chelyabinsk created a significant void on the “Bisons`” blue line. This position has been filled by Ty Smith, who played 8 games for Carolina last season. In the playoffs and for most of the regular season, Smith played for the Hurricanes` farm club. In 2020, he became a world champion with the Canadian junior national team, and a year later, he was named to the NHL`s All-Rookie Team. Today, the 25-year-old Smith is ready to become one of Dynamo Minsk`s key defensemen.
Joseph Keane. From San Jose Barracuda (AHL) to Spartak
The KHL is not only welcoming new foreign players but also familiar faces returning, such as Joseph Keane. This is his second stint in the KHL. He first arrived at Spartak at the age of 23 and had a decent first season, but his performance significantly declined in the second, with only 11 points in 38 games. Keane lost power play time, which heavily impacted his effectiveness. After that, he returned overseas for a year, where he posted similar numbers for the San Jose farm club. Interestingly, Keane might not have left Russia if Spartak had sold the rights to the American to Traktor. Instead, the “Red-Whites” needed this right-handed offensive defenseman themselves, albeit after a one-season hiatus.
Gareth Tenby