Summer trades pick up pace
It’s been a busy week for KHL GMs, with some blockbuster trades completed. We’ve seen multiple Gagarin Cup winners on the move, and new imports heading to Avangard and Admiral. In addition, the KHL’s new club ratings were published last ratings – with a new leader unveiled.
Three-time champions move to SKA
Mikhail Grigorenko and Sergei Plotnikov, two forwards who featured in CSKA’s recent Gagarin Cup winning rosters, are on the move. The duo signed up to SKA, both on four-year deals. Plotnikov, 33, has been here before: his first Gagarin Cup came with SKA in 2017. Grigorenko, 30, won all three of his titles in Moscow. Both have extensive international experience, with Grigorenko winning Olympic gold in 2018. The blockbuster trades serve notice of a new look for SKA, and a big rebuild at CSKA following the departure of Sergei Fedorov and the arrival of Ilya Vorobyov.
Metallurg ties down imports
Gagarin Cup winner Metallurg Magnitogorsk extended two of its imports and added one more. Defenseman Robin Press inked a two-year deal, while center Luke Johnson is back for one. In addition, Scott Wilson, previously with Vityaz, arrives on a one-year term. In 109 games, Wilson has 71 (42+29) points.
Metallurg gears up, Cassels join Avangard, Galchenyuk moves East. Top transfers
Cassels moves to Omsk
Avangard’s offensive reshuffle continues. After replacing Ryan Spooner with Linden Vey, the Hawks announced Cole Cassels as a replacement for Nikolai Prokhorkin. The 29-year-old American has plenty of AHL experience, but his two previous attempts in Europe – one with Wolfsburg in Germany, another with Sodertalje in Sweden – didn’t make a huge impression. Since then, though, he’s put up good numbers in the AHL and remains a formidable opponent on the draw.
Admiral snaps up Ortega
Another American forward with experience in Germany, Austin Ortega, is heading to Vladivostok. The 30-year-old winger never made the NHL but moved to Berlin in 2019 and found a role for himself in the DEL. Most recently he played for Munich, where he won a championship in 2023. Ortega also has spells with Vaxjo, TPS and Salzburg under his belt. He’s coming to Admiral on a one-year deal.
Dynamo begins rebuild
Dynamo Moscow had mixed feelings about 2023-2024. Top of the table in regular season, Alexei Kudashov’s team came up short in the playoffs, falling to Lokomotiv in round two. Kudashov remains in post, but there are big changes in personnel underway in Moscow. Among the big additions, two-time Gagarin Cup winner Artyom Sergeyev stands out. The former CSKA man returns to the capital after a season with SKA. Forward Anton Slepyshev, Sergeyev’s team-mate on the 2022 and 2023 championship teams, makes the short journey across Moscow. He has previous with Kudashov, who was assistant coach on the Russian team at the Beijing Olympics where Slepyshev was a key player.
Another new forward, Artyom Shvets-Rogovoi, was tipped for big things when he moved from Vityaz to SKA. However, injuries halted his progress, and he has just 23 KHL appearances since 2021. The 29-year-old will look to reinvigorate his career in Blue-and-White. In addition, experienced defenseman Kirill Adamchuk joins from Ak Bars.
Metallurg tops KHL club rating
The league published its end-of-season rating for its 23 member clubs. In addition to sporting success, the ratings also reflect commercial progress and TV marketability. Metallurg climbed from fourth place to lead the rating this year, buoyed by its Gagarin Cup victory. Avtomobilist was the biggest climber, jumping from 14th place to seventh after its most successful KHL campaign. Severstal suffered the greatest fall, down five positions. Barys and CSKA were both down four.
World Championship medals for ex-KHLers
The 2024 IIHF World Championship ended with gold medals for seven former KHL players. A 2-0 win for the Czechs against Switzerland in the final means gold for Roman Cervenka, a 2015 Gagarin Cup winner with SKA, Lukas Sedlak (three productive seasons with Traktor), Tomas Kundratek (Dinamo Riga, Slovan, Torpedo, KRS); Jakub Krejcik (Lev Prague, Medvescak, Jokerit, Dinamo Minsk), Michal Kempny (one year with Avangard), Matej Stransky (18 months at Severstal) and David Tomasek (21 points in 47 games for Amur in 2021-2022). Switzerland’s former Avangard forward Sven Andrighetto collected a silver medal.
Earlier on Sunday, Sweden defeated Canada in the bronze medal game. That meant hardware for Lukas Bengtsson (three seasons with SKA and Dinamo Minsk), Tim Heed (one season at Spartak), Linus Johansson (Sochi and Neftekhimik) plus Victor Hedman, who played for Barys during the 2012-2013 NHL lockout.
Jagr into IIHF Hall of Fame
Sunday’s IIHF Hall of Fame inauguration ceremony featured former Avangard captain Jaromir Jagr. Best known for his feats in the NHL and the international game, the Czech legend was also a big part of the early years of the KHL. He played three seasons in Omsk, and all captained three teams to All-Star victory – twice in an “imports vs Russians” formats, then for Team East over Team West. In total, Jagr had 165 points in 181 KHL games for Avangard.
