Season review: CSKA. Igor Nikitin’s return and a team learning his system
KHL.ru continues its review of the 2025-2026 season. CSKA endured an uneven adjustment period under returning head coach Igor Nikitin, but by the end of the campaign the team showed clear signs that they are once again capable of becoming one of the KHL’s elite teams.
Ahead of the 2025-2026 season, CSKA brought back Igor Nikitin. The coach who guided the team to the Gagarin Cup in 2019 returned to Moscow as a two-time champion, having also lifted the trophy with Lokomotiv. Expectations were clear: CSKA’s ultimate goal remained another championship. Before pursuing that objective, however, the club had to undergo a significant transformation, adapting to Nikitin’s standards and vision.
The process was far from smooth. Through the first ten games of the season, CSKA collected just over half of the available points. By the end of October, the team was hovering near the edge of the Western Conference playoff picture, and in early December it even fell outside the top eight. Nikitin, however, remained committed to his approach, reshaping both the roster and the team’s style of play. By the end of the regular season, those changes began to pay off.
While some observers were questioning whether CSKA would reach the playoffs in December, a month later many experts were describing the team as one of the best in the West. In late January, CSKA put together an impressive eight-game winning streak and closed out the regular season with a victory over Spartak. The win was the club’s 800th in KHL history and secured home-ice advantage for the opening round of the playoffs.
The postseason began with a Moscow vs St. Petersburg derby against SKA. CSKA won the series in five games, suffering its only defeat in Game Three on the road. In the second round, Nikitin’s team faced Avangard. The series was defined by physical hockey and intense battles all over the ice.
CSKA lost the opener 0:3, conceding in every possible game situation: shorthanded, on the power play, and into an empty net at even strength. Adjustments followed, and Nikitin’s men significantly raised their level of play. The next two games were decided by a single goal, but both went Avangard’s way, 3:2 and 3:2 OT. On April 14, CSKA extended the series with a 3:1 home victory, but Avangard ultimately advanced by edging the Muscovites 2:1 in Game Five.
“The series was very informative for us. We saw our players against an elite opponent and understand where we need to improve, what kind of players we need, and who is capable of playing this type of hockey — physically, mentally, through adversity, and in battles for the puck.” Those comments from Nikitin after the series suggest that CSKA’s transformation is still very much a work in progress.
Best Players
Gamzin began the season as the backup to Martin Spencer, but it quickly became clear that he was ready for a much larger role. It was not so much a reflection of Spencer’s play as it was of Gamzin’s own confidence and consistency. Including the playoffs, the netminder appeared in 50 games and earned 27 victories. In the regular season, Gamzin ranked second in the KHL in save percentage (93.8%), first in goals-against average (1.49), and first in shutouts (8), establishing himself as one of the League’s elite netminders.
Poltapov finished the season as CSKA’s leading scorer. The forward matched his career-high regular-season production with 40 (16+24) points before recording the most productive playoff run of his career with six points (2+4). Poltapov was the only CSKA player to appear in every game of the season, playing all 78 contests. He also led the team’s forwards in differential with a plus-10 rating, while his seven game-winning goals were the most on the roster.
Okhotyuk played a crucial role in Igor Nikitin’s system. While his offensive numbers were modest — 16 (2+14) points, third among CSKA defensemen — his greatest value came in the defensive zone. The blueliner led the team with a plus-14 rating, topped the roster in blocked shots (132), and recorded the most hits among CSKA defensemen with 108. His physical, shutdown style made him one of the cornerstones of CSKA’s defensive structure throughout the season.
Head coach
Before the season, CSKA signed Igor Nikitin and his coaching staff to a new five-year contract running through the end of the 2029-2030 campaign.
“A five-year contract reflects our assessment of his work over many years. We understand how we want to build the team. We trust Nikitin and his staff to construct it over the long term,” CSKA sporting director Denis Denisov said after the season.
The way the team developed throughout 2025-2026 only reinforced the club’s belief in that decision. While CSKA failed to capture the Gagarin Cup in their first season under Nikitin’s second tenure, the team’s progress and long-term potential were evident. Nikitin is CSKA’s all-time leader among head coaches in both games coached (385) and victories (274) in the KHL. During the 2025-2026 season, he also surpassed the 700-game mark as a KHL head coach. He currently ranks second in League history with 762 games coached and 503 wins.
Best Game
The game may not have been a favorite of the coaching staff, but it was undoubtedly one of the most entertaining contests of CSKA’s season. On February 27, CSKA hosted the Shanghai Dragons. Earlier in the month, the Muscovites had beaten the Dragons twice on the road by one-goal margins (1:0 and 2:1 OT), and another controlled victory seemed likely. Instead, the teams produced one of the wildest games of the season.
Over the opening 13-and-a-half minutes, Shanghai scored four unanswered goals. Spencer Foo led the charge with two goals, scoring both shorthanded and at even strength. CSKA, however, refused to fold. Before the first intermission, the Muscovites had cut the deficit to one goal, and early in the third period Denis Zernov tied the game at four with a power-play marker. The comeback was not complete yet. After the Dragons regained the lead, CSKA once again found an answer through Nick Ebert, who had joined the club during the season. Then, just seconds into overtime, Pavel Karnaukhov scored the winner to secure a memorable victory.
The 5:4 OT win marked the first time a Nikitin-coached CSKA team had overcome a four-goal deficit to win a KHL game.
Young Players
Several CSKA players aged 23 and under played regular roles throughout the season. Dmitry Gamzin and Prokhor Poltapov have already been highlighted, but another rising star for both CSKA and the KHL is Dmitry Buchelnikov. Despite missing part of the season through injury, he remained one of the team’s most exciting players, recording 24 (14+10) points in 44 regular-season games and adding four points (1+3) in his first KHL playoff campaign. His goal in Game Two of the first-round series against SKA was one of the standout moments of the postseason.
On defense, 20-year-old Ivan Patrikhayev played a significant role. He appeared in 76 games, averaging 13:34 of ice time per contest, while contributing 13 (3+10) points and posting a plus-8 rating.
Matvei Shuravin spent roughly a third of the regular season with the senior team. In 21 appearances, he registered one assist and a minus-one rating while averaging around seven and a half minutes per game. Artyom Barabosha also saw action on the blue line, posting one assist and a plus-1 rating in 14 games.
Among the young forwards, Alexei Churkin (43 games, 1+3) and Oleg Maistrenko (31 games, 2+0) earned valuable experience at the KHL level. Yaroslav Yapparov scored his first KHL goal in a three-game stint with the club, while Yegor Solovyov and Ivan Yanchenko also made appearances with the senior team.
Offseason Moves
CSKA have been active on the transfer market this summer, making several notable additions. Defensemen Alex Cotton and Robert Hamilton were brought in to add offensive firepower from the blue line, while forwards Derek Barach and Marat Khairullin strengthen the attack.
Khairullin arrives after four productive seasons with SKA, during which he established himself as one of the club’s key offensive players and recorded at least 40 points in every campaign.
