Back in action

After the international break, the KHL resumed with new managerial appointments, a Stanley Cup winner’s first goal of the season and a swap deal involving import defensemen. Plus, the coaching staff for February’s All-Star Game was confirmed.

Koreshkov takes charge of Traktor

Traktor appointed Evgeny Koreshkov as its new head coach. The initial contract runs to the end of the season. Koreshkov, 55, is back behind the bench for the first time since 2018/2019 when he was in charge of Barys. The Ust-Kaminogorsk native also worked as an assistant at Metallurg, CSKA and SKA before coming to Chelyabinsk following Benoit Groulx’s departure last month. In Moscow he was part of two Gagarin Cup winning teams in 2019 and 2022. As a player, Koreshkov spent much of his career with Metallurg and represented Kazakhstan at two Olympics.

Kozlov confirmed at Dynamo

Dynamo Moscow has appointed one of the fabled “Russian Five” as its new head coach. Vyacheslav Kozlov was confirmed in the role after a successful spell as interim boss. The 53-year-old won seven of his nine games following the departure of Alexei Kudashov. As a player, Kozlov famously won back-to-back Stanley Cups with Detroit in 1997 and 1998. Later, he was part of Gagarin Cup winning rosters in successive seasons with Salavat Yulaev (2011) and Dynamo (2012).

Kuznetsov scores for Magnitka at last

Another Stanley Cup winner, Evgeny Kuznetsov, returned to Metallurg’s team this week and finally got his first goal for his new club. He found the net in a 4-1 win over Sochi, and also set up youngster Igor Nechayev for his first KHL goal. Kuznetsov’s goal came in his 14th game for Metallurg.

Serebryakov shuts ‘em out

Avangard goalie Nikita Serebryakov finished the week on a high. He had back-to-back shut-outs, clearing 20 for his career, as the Hawks won 3-0 at Neftekhimik and repeated the scoreline at Lokomotiv. Serebryakov’s current shut-out streak is 144:18

D-men on the move

CSKA and Lada traded import defenseman last week. Colby Williams, who joined the Muscovites in 2023, is swapping places with Mac Hollowell. Williams, 30, played 24 games for CSKA this season with 3 (1+2) points and has a KHL total of 44 points in 203 games for CSKA and Admiral. His fellow Canadian Hollowell, 27, had 11 (1+10) points in 28 games in Togliatti having initially joined Lokomotiv in the summer before moving on without playing a game.

700 wins for Salavat Yulaev

A 2-1 success on the road at Severstal made it 700 KHL victories for Salavat Yulaev. That places the Ufa team eighth on the all-time list, with SKA out in front on 833. Of those 700 successes, 564 came in regulation, 89 in overtime and 47 in shoot-outs.

All-Star coaches announced

The coaching pairs for the 2026 Fonbet KHL All-Star Game re confirmed. Gerard Gallant (Shanghai Dragons) and Mikhail Kravets (Barys) will take charge of the KHL World Stars. Ironically, Gerard replaced Kravets when he was appointed head coach of the rebranded Dragons; Kravets was the last head coach of Kunlun Red Star before the change of ownership. Nikolai Zavarukhin takes charge of KHL Ural Stars on home ice in Yekaterinburg, working with Metallurg’s Andrei Razin. KHL Rus Stars will be led by Anvar Gatiyatullin (Ak Bars) and Dmitry Kvartalnov (Dinamo Minsk), while KHL U23 Stars will be coached by Igor Grishin (Neftekhimik) and Alexei Isakov (Torpedo).