Schedule set
The big news from last week was the release of the 2026/2027 season schedule – with some tasty clashes to tuck into from day one on Sep. 5. We also saw some big trades, including a potential new center at Metallurg and a cross-town swap in Moscow.
Spreading the load
The 2026/2027 game schedule was released last week – and it promises the most even spread of games in KHL history. One of the key tasks for planners was to ensure a more-or-less consistent number of games per day, avoiding the peaks and troughs that characterized past campaigns. And, with an average of 4.11 games per day, they managed it. There will be no nine-game days, and just two eight-game schedules. Instead, there are more days with three, four or five games, making it easier for fans to focus on the games that matter to them.
Key dates for 2026/2027
The season starts on Sep. 5, this year with six games on the opening day rather than a single Opening Cup showdown. On Jan. 3, the game between CSKA and Shanghai Dragons will be the 15,000th in KHL history. Other landmarks should see Grigory Panin play his 1,000th game in October, and Vadim Shipachyov’s 1,000th regular season game should come in January. The regular season ends on March 20, with the playoffs starting on March 23. The Gagarin Cup final will get underway on May 11.
Week one highlights
The early stages of the new season promise some big games. Opening night begins with Avtomobilist welcoming Dynamo Moscow – Alexei Kudashov’s first game as head coach in Yekaterinburg comes against his previous club. The same day sees Vadim Shipachyov’s Salavat Yulaev on the road at his hometown team Severstal. Sep. 7 brings the first Moscow derby of the season as CSKA hosts Spartak, and the big Eastern Conference rivalry between Ak Bars and Metallurg resumes on Sep. 11.
Todd moves to Metallurg
After reaching the Gagarin Cup final with Ak Bars, Canadian forward Nathan Todd was one of many players out of contract in Kazan. One of them, Ilya Safonov, is already heading for Vancouver and now Todd is making the shorter journey to Magnitogorsk. He’s signed a two-year deal with the team he scored on twice during the playoffs. At that time he was playing the wing, but with Magnitka he could find himself used as a center for Vladimir Tkachyov as Andrei Razin rebuilds his first line without leading goalscorer Roman Kantserov. Todd previously played as a center in North America, and Razin has experience of refining his players’ roles on the team.
Comtois crosses town
After two seasons with Dynamo Moscow, forward Max Comtois is on his way to Spartak. The Canadian was third in scoring for the Blue-and-Whites in his debut season, but his form slipped somewhat last term as Alexei Kudashov lost his job as head coach. Now he’s traded direct to one of Dynamo’s big rivals, with Nikita Korostelyov, 29, going the other way. The right-sided forward led Spartak in goals last season, matching his personal best of 21 in one campaign. His move to Dynamo completes the set of Moscow clubs, having played for CSKA in 2020/2021.
Busy week for Dragons
Shanghai Dragons are rebuilding. After last season’s early promise ended in disappointment, the club has trusted Mitch Love to deliver a playoff-worthy team. A raft of first-team players have left, including defenseman Doyle Somerby (now at Lada) and forward Gage Quinnie (now with Sochi). Meanwhile, Sergei Boykov is the first notable arrival. The 30-year-old defenseman spent the early part of his career in North America, returning to Russia in 2020 with Dynamo Moscow. Later he was with Avangard and, last season, Torpedo, where his hard-hitting play was especially valued by his new coaches. Last season, he was eight in the league for hits. The Dragons also added new faces at the weekend. Forward David Chen, 23, arrives from Yale University, where he was last year’s captain. He continues the club tradition of looking for young talent with Chinese ancestry. Winger Brett Murray, 27, has NHL experience with Buffalo and played his first season in Europe last term with Nurnberg Ice Tigers in Germany.
Kiselevich’s farewell game
Gagarin Cup winner and 2018 Olympic champion Bogdan Kiselevich is welcoming a host of stars to his farewell game on July 29 in Cherepovets. The 36-year-old defenseman retired at the end of the 2024/2025 season and is returning to his first club for one last hurrah. He’ll be joined by fellow Severstal alums Vadim Shipachyov and Pavel Buchnevich, colleagues from CSKA’s 2022 champion team Nikita Nesterov and Mikhail Grigorenko, plus other former team-mates in Moscow Ilya Sorokin and Grigory Panin. In total, Kiselevich played 666 regular season games in the KHL for Severstal, CSKA, Avangard, Neftekhimik and Lokomotiv, with a further 135 playoff games. He also had 32 NHL appearances in 2018/2019, representing Florida and Winnipeg.
