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The 2025/2026 KHL is officially over, with the tradition closing ceremony taking place last week. Here’s your recap of all the prizes handed out there, plus news of a long-serving import leaving his club and the transfer window opening today.

KHL.ru takes a closer look at the nominees for the Golden Stick award — the shortlist following the 2025-2026 regular season includes Sam Anas (Dinamo Minsk), Damir Sharipzyanov (Avangard), and Vladimir Tkachyov (Metallurg).

KHL.ru takes a closer look at the nominees for the league’s Best Goalie award — the finalists are Semyon Vyazovoi (Salavat Yulaev), Daniil Isayev (Lokomotiv), and Nikita Serebryakov (Avangard).

KHL.ru presents the finalists for the Golden Stick award – the trophy for the most valuable player of the 2025-2026 KHL regular season.

This is what it all comes down to – the 2026 Gagarin Cup final starts in Yaroslavl today. The match-up between Lokomotiv and Ak Bars is rich in sub-plots, as the Railwaymen look to defend their title against an opponent seeking a record-breaking fourth crown.

The Kontinental Hockey League’s commission has determined the best players of the 2026 Gagarin Cup playoffs’ third round in four categories.

A last-minute collapse in Game Six denied Avangard a Finals berth, as Lokomotiv forced extra time and completed a dramatic comeback to send the series back to Yaroslavl for an exciting and winner-takes-all Game Seven

Two goals for Loko in the last minute of regulation robbed Avangard of a place in this year’s Gagarin Cup final – at least for now. The Hawks blew a 2-0 lead in game six of the series and fell in overtime, ensuring the teams return to Yaroslavl for a game seven showdown.

Last week confirmed the first of this year’s Gagarin Cup finalists, while the second series remains tight. Elsewhere, another KHL player celebrated a move to the NHL.

Lokomotiv kept its season alive with a dominant shutout victory in Yaroslavl and now heads to Omsk with renewed confidence for Game Six, while Avangard looks to quickly bounce back on home ice and avoid letting the series slip into a decisive seventh game.

Two days after failing to score in Omsk, Lokomotiv blanked Avangard in Yaroslavl. Saturday’s 4-0 victory ensures this Gagarin Cup semi-final series will return to Siberia for game six with Loko still in contention at 2-3.

Avangard heads to Yaroslavl one win away from the Gagarin Cup Final after another disciplined defensive performance in Omsk, while Lokomotiv now faces a must-win situation to keep its season alive on home ice.

Avangard is one game away from ousting the defending champion. A 2-0 win at home to Lokomotiv put the Hawks up 3-1 in the series. Playoff leading scorer Konstantin Okulov moves to 20 points in post season after scoring the second goal in Omsk.

Lokomotiv climbed back into the series with a crucial road win in Omsk and now heads into Game Four with renewed belief, while Avangard looks to respond quickly and protect its advantage before the matchup shifts back to Yaroslavl.

Down 2-0 in the series, and 2-0 at the first intermission, Lokomotiv’s grip on the Gagarin Cup looked to be down to its fingertips. But a big fightback in game three secured a 4-2 victory in Omsk, reinvigorating Bob Hartley’s hopes of taking his team to the final.

After a fiery and penalty-filled battle in Yaroslavl, the series shifts to Omsk with Avangard in control and looking to extend their lead, while Lokomotiv face a crucial test as they try to respond and avoid falling into a deeper hole.

For the first time ever, the opening games in the Gagarin Cup semi-finals went to the visiting teams. Avangard and Ak Bars enjoyed 5-2 wins at Lokomotiv and Metallurg respectively. The Hawks followed up with a second victory in Yaroslavl – can Ak Bars do the same in Magnitogorsk today?

Two goals in 68 seconds midway through the second period turned around game two of this Gagarin Cup semi-final series. Vasily Ponomaryov and Damir Sharipzyanov put Avangard in front and the Hawks went on to win a fiery game in Yaroslavl.

Avangard drew first blood with an emphatic Game One win, but with Lokomotiv stung on home ice and their star netminder chased early, Game Two sets the stage for a fierce response from the Railwaymen as they look to even the series.

Defenseman Max Lajoie had two power play goals to open the Gagarin Cup semifinals. His efforts paced a 5-2 win for the Hawks at Lokomotiv.

A semifinal trilogy unfolds as Lokomotiv and Avangard meet for the third straight year: the Railwaymen chasing a third consecutive series win, while the Hawks aim to flip the script after sweeping the regular-season meetings.

Fiore’s timely scoring, Barach’s reliability, Press stepping up again and Panik’s understated impact all proved key in the latest playoff matchups. KHL.ru presents the best players from each country.

We’re down to the last four in the race for the Gagarin Cup after wrapping up round two swiftly last week. Two teams swept into the semis, the other two series were done in five games. That sets up some mouthwatering encounters when action resumes Friday.

The Kontinental Hockey League’s commission has determined the best players of the 2026 Gagarin Cup playoffs’ second round in four categories.

Avangard returns to Omsk with a chance to close out the series, while CSKA looks to build on its Game Four breakthrough and extend the battle further.

The Gagarin Cup second round series between Avangard and CSKA is heading back to Omsk for game five after the Muscovites got their first win on Tuesday.

Lokomotiv and Avangard stand one win away from a sweep as both series stay on the road, with Salavat Yulaev and CSKA facing must-win games on home ice to keep their seasons alive and force a return to Yaroslavl and Omsk.

The second round of Gagarin Cup playoff action has seen great goaltending in Yaroslavl, thrilling finishes in Minsk, and vital scoring streaks for Avangard and Metallurg. Along the way, Andrei Stas became the fifth man to play 1,000 KHL games. And in the juniors, the first round of the playoffs produced the JHL’s longest-ever game.

Konstantin Okulov’s overtime winner saw Avangard take a 3-2 verdict at CSKA. The Hawks now lead the Gagarin Cup second round series 3-0 and can wrap it up in Moscow on Tuesday.

Lokomotiv rides Isayev’s remarkable shutout streak to tighten its grip on the series, leaving Salavat Yulaev searching for answers, while CSKA returns home under pressure as Avangard aims to extend its lead behind the red-hot Poturalski and Okulov.

Game two of this second round series saw Avangard hold on to beat CSKA 3-2. Two goals from Andrew Poturalski, plus two points from Konstantin Okulov, made the difference. The Muscovites got their first goals of the series, but it wasn’t enough.

Avangard and Lokomotiv drew first blood with disciplined, low-scoring wins, shutting out CSKA and edging Salavat Yulaev to take early control of their series, as both matchups now hinge on whether the trailing sides can break through two red-hot defenses and in-form goaltenders in Game Two.

The start of the second round saw 19 saves from Nikita Serebryakov and two goals from Konstantin Okulov lead the Hawks to victory over CSKA.

Avangard and CSKA renew a rivalry shaped by two recent Gagarin Cup Finals, splitting those matchups with one title each, while Lokomotiv looks to build on last year’s semifinal win over Salavat Yulaev. With limited playoff history beyond that, both second-round series open balanced but with clear recent reference points.

Round 1 of the playoffs is done. From eight series, we saw one sweep and one pair go to six games. But every contest produced drama and special moments, with a sprinkling of KHL records along the way.

Daniil Vovchenko and Nikolai Prokhorkin scored the vital goals as two more KHL playff first-round series came to an end on Wednesday. Vovchenko got the only goal of the game as Metallurg edged a 1-0 verdict over Sibir. Then Prokhorkin tied Avangard’s game against Nefetkhimik with just eight seconds to play before potting the winner in overtime. Both winning teams completed their series in five games.

After the first verdicts, more series could reach their conclusion, with Avangard, Metallurg, and reigning champion Lokomotiv all holding 3–1 leads over Neftekhimik, Sibir, and Spartak respectively, each one win away from advancing, while their opponents look to stay alive and force a return game.

Sibir needed almost five full period to find the opening goal of its game against Metallurg – but Anton Kosolapov’s snipe on 99:59 earned a 1-0 victory to keep that series alive. Magnitka, up 3-1, will look to finish it in Magnitogorsk on Wednesday. Eastern Conference second seed Avangard is also one home win away from round two after a 5-2 success at Neftekhimik put it up 3-1 in the series.

Elimination looms in two series, with Metallurg and Dinamo Minsk holding commanding 3–0 leads over Sibir and Dynamo Moscow respectively. Elsewhere, Avangard and Lokomotiv are ahead 2–1 against Neftekhimik and Spartak, with Game Four offering a chance to either push to the brink or bring the series back to level terms.

Both of Saturday’s Western Conference playoffs went to overtime, and both ended with the away team victorious. Sam Anas struck after three minutes of the extras to put Dinamo Minsk up 3-0 on Dynamo Moscow after a 1-1 tie in the Russian capital. Across town, Spartak’s Ivan Morozov grabbed a late tying goal against Lokomotiv, but the Railwaymen rebounded to win it on Artur Kayumov’s redirect. The defending champ is up 2-1 in that series.