A look at the most significant events and developments of the past week in the Kontinental Hockey League.
A Return
Prior to this summer, there were only two instances in KHL history where a coach who won the Gagarin Cup departed the championship team almost immediately afterward. On both occasions, this coach was Vyacheslav Bykov, who unlike Igor Nikitin, did not move to another team but simply ceased working (temporarily the first time, seemingly permanently the second). After Nikitin`s contract was terminated, Lokomotiv remained without a head coach for a considerable time – over two weeks.
Surprisingly, there were far fewer rumors about a successor than is usually the case during active searches, particularly for a strong and well-funded team. Specific candidates speculated upon included Todd Rierden, Roman Rotenberg, and Patrick Fischer. Rierden later found employment with Philadelphia, Rotenberg with Dynamo Moscow, and the specific “Fischer” turned into a vague concept of a “foreigner.” It came as a significant surprise when this foreigner turned out to be Bob Hartley.
Hartley will turn 65 in September. He hasn`t been involved in coaching for the past three years, working instead as a television analyst. Before that, as is well known, he led Avangard and won the Gagarin Cup with them in 2021. Notably, Hartley guided the Omsk team to the final twice, facing Nikitin on both occasions.
Vityaz Excluded
Unfortunately, the concerning rumors that had been circulating around Vityaz over the past month proved to be true. At a remote meeting of the Board of Directors, a decision was made to exclude Vityaz from the KHL championship, and Russkie Vityazi from the MHL championship.
Vityaz had played in the League since its very first season and made the playoffs four times (in 2017, 2019, 2020, and 2023). In all four instances, their playoff performance was limited to a single series.
To ensure a balanced distribution of teams across conferences, Lada has been transferred from the East to the West.
Relocation
The exclusion of Vityaz required urgently reworking the already finalized schedule for the next season. And just before the calendar was published, another piece of news arrived that forced further adjustments. This was prompted by Kunlun`s relocation from Mytishchi to Saint Petersburg – to the SKA Arena.
Interestingly, Kunlun had already played at the SKA Arena as the home team. In February 2024, a home game against SKA was moved to Saint Petersburg by agreement. The Chinese team won 3:2 on that occasion (which, incidentally, cost the Saint Petersburg team the Continental Cup) and set a club attendance record for a home game (21,228 spectators).
And last season, one of their two away games against SKA also took place at the SKA Arena. It concluded with the exact same score in favor of Kunlun.
The Calendar
The necessary adjustments to the calendar were made promptly, and it was published on July 7. The exclusion of Vityaz naturally reduced the total number of matches, but it did not affect the participants – they will still play 68 games each, as before. The pauses also remained unchanged: an eight-day break for the Channel One Cup, a three-day New Year break, and a four-day break for the Hockey All-Star Week. The regular season will run until March 20, comprising 748 matches over 182 game days (an average of 4.11 per day). The playoffs begin on March 23 and – if the final series goes seven games – will conclude on May 23.
Super Final
The KHL 3×3 Championship is entering its final stretch. In the regular season, teams played 72 games. The Fonbet division was won by Metallurg, accumulating 95 points, while the Winline division went to Ak Bars (116). Both winners significantly pulled away from their nearest competitors – Avangard (by 22 points) and Traktor (by 36), respectively. Joining them in the Super Final are Salavat Yulaev and Dynamo Minsk, who finished third in their divisions, while Barys and Sibir were left out of the tournament.
The Super Final will proceed in two stages. In a round-robin tournament, six teams will determine the four semifinalists, who will then compete for the championship and prizes via a playoff system. The final and third-place game are scheduled to be played on July 12.
In the very first match of the round-robin tournament, the division winners met, and the Kazan team crushed the Magnitogorsk team 7:2. The Chelyabinsk team, just like in the recent KHL playoffs, staged a comeback – recovering from a 1:4 deficit against the Minsk team. And the Ufa team defeated the Omsk team 3:2.
Gareth Tenby