Season review: Dynamo Moscow. Three coaches in one year and a painful first-round exit
KHL.ru continues its club-by-club review of the 2025-2026 season. Dynamo Moscow changed its head coach, but that didn’t help for a long playoff run as the team failed to take even just one game to Dinamo Minsk in the elimination stage.
Dynamo Moscow entered the 2025-2026 season having lost more than they gained during the summer. The departures of Brennan Menell and Dmitry Rashevsky left significant holes in the roster, with both players having been among the team’s key contributors. The club was unable to find like-for-like replacements. Alongside several young players returning from loan spells, Dynamo added Maxim Mamin, Fredrik Claesson, and Devin Brosseau. The latter, however, played just twelve games for the Blue-and-Whites before moving on to Salavat Yulaev.
The season got off to a difficult start. Dynamo won only four of their first ten games, with two of those victories coming in shootouts. By the end of September, the Moscow side sat ninth in the Western Conference, outside the playoff picture. Results gradually improved, and a six-game winning streak spanning late October and early November appeared to signal a turnaround. That made the news of head coach Alexei Kudashov’s dismissal all the more surprising. He left the club on Nov 17, just days after a victory over Sibir.
Assistant coach Vyacheslav Kozlov was promoted to replace him. The coaching change initially had the desired effect, with Dynamo immediately putting together a seven-game winning streak. In the long run, however, the move failed to provide lasting stability. Hard-fought victories were regularly followed by painful defeats, and by the end of the regular season Dynamo had slipped to sixth place in the Western Conference standings.
In the first round of the playoffs, Dynamo faced Dinamo Minsk. The series was closely contested, but the Blue-and-Whites were unable to find a breakthrough, coming closest to victory on home ice. Ultimately, it was not enough. Dynamo suffered a 0-4 sweep and exited in the opening round for the first time in three seasons.
Best players
71 games, 49 (28+21) points
Sikura’s greatest weapon is his shot, and he showcased it throughout the season. The Dynamo forward finished eighth in the KHL goalscoring race, placing among the league’s top ten snipers. More than half of his 28 goals came on the power play (15), while five stood as game-winners. Unsurprisingly, Sikura led Dynamo in shots on goal, combining high volume with an impressive 11.5% shooting percentage.
68 games, 57 (9+48) points
No Dynamo player took a bigger step forward during the 2025-2026 season than Pylenkov. The defenseman became a key contributor at both ends of the ice, setting a new career high in scoring while finishing as the team’s joint leading scorer alongside Nikita Gusev and leading assist provider. Add 135 blocked shots and an ability to handle responsibilities on both the power play and penalty kill, and Pylenkov’s emergence as an elite two-way defenseman becomes clear.
Jordan Weal
71 games, 56 (14+42) points
Together with Gusev and Sikura, Weal has long been one of the driving forces behind Dynamo’s offense. Last season, he ranked second on the team in assists behind Pylenkov and led all Dynamo forwards in average ice time at 19:19 per game. He also posted the team’s best faceoff percentage among regular forwards, winning 56.5% of his draws and providing a reliable presence in all situations.
Head Coach
Alexei Kudashov’s departure was surprising not only because of its timing, but also because he had spent several years building Dynamo into one of the league’s contenders, guiding the team to the semifinals the previous season. His successor, Vyacheslav Kozlov, received his first opportunity as a KHL head coach, but the experiment ultimately produced mixed results.
As a consequence, Dynamo appointed their third head coach of the season on April 21, 2026, hiring Leonids Tambijevs. The veteran coach earned widespread praise for his work with Admiral, consistently getting the most out of limited resources. Now he faces a very different challenge at a club where anything short of a Gagarin Cup title is unlikely to be considered a success.
Interestingly, Tambijevs’ first season will begin with a meeting against Kudashov. On September 5, Dynamo will travel to Yekaterinburg to face Avtomobilist, the former Dynamo bench boss’s new team.
Best Game
One of Dynamo’s most dominant performances came in early December on the road against Traktor. The visitors opened the scoring in the first minute and carried a commanding 4:1 lead into the first intermission.
The game only became more one-sided from there. Dynamo controlled the second period and extended their advantage to 8:2 early in the third before Traktor managed to score twice late on. The final score of 8:4 reflected the Blue-and-Whites’ offensive firepower on the night.
Nikita Gusev was the undisputed star of the game, collecting six points (2+4) in a memorable victory.
Young Players
Over the course of the season, Kudashov and Kozlov gave opportunities to twelve young players. Several of them have already established themselves as regular members of the lineup, including goaltender Maxim Motorygin, defensemen Magomed Sharakanov and Mario Patalakha, and forward Yegor Rimashevsky.
Three players made their KHL debuts during the 2025-2026 campaign: goalie Vladimir Selivanov and forwards Sergei Artemyev and Daniil Prokhorov. Defenseman Timur Kol and forward Artyom Bondar also saw increased playing time compared with previous seasons.
Offseason Moves
Some of Dynamo’s young assets were used to strengthen the roster through trades. Artemyev, for example, was dealt to Neftekhimik in exchange for Bulat Shafigullin.
The club has also addressed several key areas during the offseason. Maxim Letunov was brought in to reinforce the center position, Nick Merkley adds skill and scoring depth up front, while Christian Henkel is expected to bolster the defensive corps.
Among the departures, the exits of Kirill Adamchuk and Artyom Ilyenko stand out, with both players joining Avangard. Anton Slepyshev followed Kudashov to Avtomobilist, while Pavel Kudryavtsev continued his career with Lada.
