Trade window opens
After the Gagarin Cup final was settled, the next big event was the start of the summer trade window on May 1. Within a week, we’ve already seen some big moves, while other clubs have moved swiftly to tie down key players on extended contracts.
Hawks add Vey, Dietz
Gagarin Cup winner Linden Vey is back in the KHL after a year in Germany. The Canadian, who won the cup with CSKA in 2019, signed a one-year deal with Avangard. The 32-year-old center has also represented Barys and SKA in a KHL career that takes in 340 games (252 points) through six seasons. Earlier in his career, Vey played 138 times in the NHL. He also represented Canada at the 2018 Olympics. On defense, Avangard added Darren Dietz from CSKA. Canadian born, but now a Kazakh dual-national, Dietz has long been one of the most productive blue-liners in the KHL.
Coming back: imports signing up for more
Several imports agreed contract extensions with their KHL clubs last week. Traktor was among the first to move, securing Buddy Robinson’s services for another season. The American power forward played 66 games last season, contributing 22 (15+7) points to help his team reach the playoff semi-finals. Avtomobilist, which enjoyed its best ever playoff performance last season, secured influential forwards Stephane Da Costa and Brooks Macek for another season. Jean-Sebastien Dea, who joined Neftekhimik from Metallurg partway through last season has signed for a further year with the Wolves.
Mironov crosses Moscow
Dynamo Moscow’s long-serving captain Andrei Mironov is leaving his boyhood club after 644 games for the Blue-and-Whites. And, to the surprise of many, this lifelong Dynamo man is joining his old colleagues’ biggest rival, Spartak. He inked a two-year deal with the Red-and-Whites, looking to reinvigorate his career with a new challenge.
Biryukov hangs ‘em up
Long-serving defenseman Evgeny Biryukov brought down the curtain on a playing career that saw him make 1,001 KHL appearances. During that time, he won two Gagarin Cup with Metallurg before finishing his playing days with Salavat Yulaev. But the 38-year-old isn’t going away: he’s set to continue in Ufa as part of Viktor Kozlov’s updated coaching staff.
Zubov’s a Leopard again
Sergei Zubov, the last man to lead HC Sochi to the playoffs, is back beside the Black Sea in a bid to revive the Leopards’ fortunes. The two-time Stanley Cup champion had three seasons in charge at Sochi, reaching the playoffs in 2018 and 2019. Since then, Zubov held an advisory role with the Dallas Stars and was on the staff at Dinamo Riga, SKA and Team Russia.
Yepanchintsev goes to Sibir
Vadim Yepanchintsev is back coaching in the KHL after a season with Ugra in the second tier. He’s set to take over at Sibir after the previously-announced acquisition of Anvar Gatiyatullin fell through. Yepanchintsev, 48, signed a two-year deal. Previously he had time behind the bench with Spartak and Amur.
New head coach for Dragons
Mikhail Kravets will take charge of Kunlun Red Star next season. The 60-year-old, who led Avangard to second place in the Eastern Conference before spectacularly parting ways with the Hawks during the second round playoff series against Lokomotiv, previously worked in the KRS organization in 2017-2018. Back then, he coached the KRS Heilongjiang team in the VHL. Now the 60-year-old is back with the Chinese franchise, and will be behind the bench in the KHL next season.
Vityaz announces new head coach
Pavel Desyatkov will get his first chance in the KHL next season after Vityaz unveiled him as Dmitry Ryabykin’s replacement. The 49-year-old’s prior experience as head coach has always been in the lower leagues, notably leading Sokol to the VHL finals. Last year he assisted Oleg Bratash as Lada made a successful return to the top flight.
First nominations
The KHL’s Closing Ceremony is set for May 13, and the first nominees were announced last week. The Golden Stick prize for the regular season MVP will be contested by Nikita Gusev, Reid Boucher and Vladimir Tkachyov. Gusev had his most productive season ever, with 89 points for Dynamo Moscow. Avangard’s Boucher’s 44 goals made him the leading marksman in the KHL, while his team-mate Tkachyov would surely have been close to the leader had he not missed 10 games through injury. The Goalie of the Year award renews the Gagarin Cup final rivalry between Metallurg’s Ilya Nabokov and Lokomotiv’s Daniil Isayev. Zach Fucale, who backstopped Traktor’s impressive post season run, is the third candidate.
Russia-25 dominates in Kazakhstan
The international season resumed with Russia-25 and Belarus travelling to Astana for the Kazakhstan Hockey Open. The tournament was a success for the Russian team, with SKA’s young goalie Artemy Pleshkov posting shut-outs in both of his games. A 1-0 victory over the Kazakhs, thanks to a Vasily Glotov goal, was followed by a 6-0 hammering over Belarus to win the tournament. The Belarusians were second thanks to an overtime win against Kazakhstan.
Russia-25 wins Kazakhstan Hockey Open. May 3-4 internationals
Drozg helps Slovenia back to Elite
Amur forward Jan Drozg was in international action last week, representing Slovenia in IIHF World Championship Division IA. Drozg, who finished his KHL season on a high with five points in six playoff games for the Tigers, contributed a goal and an assist as his country took the second promotion spot behind Hungary. In addition, Torpedo’s Japanese forward Yu Sato helped his country stay in the group after promotion last year. Sato had 4 (3+1) points, including a crucial tying goal midway through the third period of the vital win over Korea, as Japan came fifth out of six teams and will return next season.
