Season preview: Dynamo Moscow. With the coach, or against him?

KHL.ru continues its club-by-club preview of the upcoming season. Dynamo Moscow has a new head coach – but will it also undergo a change in style and philosophy?

Last season

The Muscovites came into the season as one of the favorites, despite concerns about squad depth. But it wasn’t the playing staff that undermined the campaign but an ongoing internal dispute. The Blue-and-Whites suffered a sluggish start to the season, losing four of their first five games and falling to modest opposition such as Sochi and Barys. That crisis was soon overcome and for the next couple of months the team played like a genuine contender, winning 14 of 17 games. Even a run of three straight losses, two of them by a single goal, did not feel like a collapse so much as a temporary blip. But that blip saw Alexei Kudashov hastened out of his job despite a win in Novosibirsk to end the skid.

The management talked of a need to shake things up, and that shake-up was the talk of the season. Although Dynamo won seven straight from late November to mid December, things quickly went south. It wasn’t just results, the team’s gameplan was visibly different from what we’d seen over the past four years and the changes did not seem to suit the players.

Thus it was no surprise to see a meek playoff exit in the first round against Dinamo Minsk. The Muscovites could score more than one goal in a game, and the best they could manage was taking their two home games to overtime. Minsk eased into the next round as Dynamo suffered a first-round sweep for the first time in the club’s long history. It was also the only series in last season’s first round that was done in four games.

Recruitment

The big losses this summer came on Dynamo’s offense: seven nailed-on first teamers, two more who would be were it not for injuries, and another five used as cover. Nikita Gusev is the stand-out absence, although his departure is not yet confirmed. In recent years, he has tended to leave it late before confirming his plans for the upcoming season. However, this year he is leaving it later than ever, and Dynamo has less cap space to play with. Rumors of a move to a new club keep getting louder.

In general, the new arrivals up front have quality, but overall they probably do not match the skills of the ones who left.

On defense the opposite applies: departures have been amply replaced by new arrivals – to the point where the contract signed with Kristian Khenkel in June was terminated last week to avoid an overcrowded roster.

Departures:

Defensemen: Kirill Adamchuk (Avangard), Kirill Gotovets, Roman Kalinichenko, Fredrik Claesson. Forwards: Sergei Artemyev (Neftekhimik), Ansel Galimov, Nikita Gusev, Semyon Der-Arguchintsev (Admiral), Ivan Zinchenko (Lada), Artyom Ilyenko (Avangard), Max Comtois (Spartak), Pavel Kudryavtsev (Lada), Maxim Mamin (CSKA), Artyom Mikheyev, Cedric Paquette (Avangard), Daniil Prokhorov (Islanders, NHL), Anton Slepyshev (Avtomobilist), Igor Ugolnikov, Artyom Chernov (Shanghai Dragons).

Arrivals:

Defensemen: Artyom Blazhievsky (Avangard), Sergei Zborovsky (Torpedo), Anton Malyshev (Sochi, try-out), Nikita Novikov (Ontario, AHL, try-out). Forwards: Nikita Korostelyov (Spartak), Maxim Letunov (Torpedo), Igor Martynov (Avangard), Nick Merkley (Shanghai Dragons), Andrei Nikonov (Traktor), Nikita Tertyshny (Admiral), Bulat Shafigullin (Neftekhimik), Pavel Shen (Admiral). 

Top 3 Signings

Nick Merkley started out with a good season at Dinamo Minsk, then struggled at Avtomobilist before flowering anew with Shanghai Dragons last season. He led the team in goals and points (24+21 in 68 games). His arrival is good insurance against the loss of Gusev and even if Nikita returns Nick will surely maintain a top-six role with time on the power play.

Dynamo has had problems with a second center for years. Whenever it seemed to be fixed, it would quickly come undone again. The latest proposed solution is Maxim Letunov from Torpedo, who stats have declined over the past three seasons: 49 points in 71 games, 39 in 72, then 34 in 70. Despite that trend, Letunov is still a valuable offense-minded center. What’s less clear is whether he has the necessary grit on the other side of the puck, which could have consequences when playing under Leonids Tambijevs. Another possible issue might be psychological: when bidding for Maxim as an unrestricted free agent, Dynamo overpaid somewhat – and more money means greater expectations. If Letunov can handle the pressure and elevate his defensive game, he could be a key acquisition – possibly more important than Merkley.

Nikita Korostelyov’s 22 goals led Spartak last season. But, like Letunov, he could face extra pressure this term. He was traded for Max Comtois, a player who had his faults but was a fan favorite at Dynamo. Korostelyov now stands in direct comparison with the Canadian. We can say with confidence that Korostelyov won’t pick up as many needless penalties as Comtois. Away from the officials, both players have similar levels of effectiveness and flair – and inconsistency.

Coaching

Apart from a short spell with SKA late last season, Leonids Tambijevs has spent his entire KHL career at Admiral. His results in Vladivostok weren’t staggering, but were definitely better than average: despite limited finances, he twice took the Sailors to the playoffs and once even reached round two. At JHL and especially VHL level, the Latvian’s background is impressive: bronze medals in both leagues and two championships in the VHL, where his 66.47% win ratio makes him the most successful coach of all time (among coaches with more than 200 games).

But the KHL is a different challenge. Tambijevs has had problems working with established players. More accurately, they have problems with him due to his demanding, authoritarian style. It’s an open question whether the coach and his players can find common ground and only time will tell.

As for his tactics, the stereotypical Tambijevs team plays tough, defensive hockey. That’s not entirely fair: almost all coaches want discipline rather than run-and-gun hockey. Admiral was always perceived as a spoiling team, but we have to take into account that a coach’s style depends greatly on the players at his disposal – and when skill levels are relatively low, it’s easier to destroy than to create. The roster at Dynamo is very different from Admiral’s, so it’s hard to believe that Tambijevs will continue to park the bus.

Goaltending

Dynamo is the only team that has not changed goalies this summer. That’s despite Maxim Motorygin, whose contract expired, having concerns about life as back-up to Vladislav Podyapolsky. However, he was unable to agree a move to another team for various reasons and signed a new contract in Moscow, preserving one of the strongest goaltending tandems in the cometpiton.

Defense

Injuries ruled out Kirill Gotovets from November and Fredrik Claesson from February, so the only serious loss is the departure of Kirill Adamchuk. He was immediately replaced with Artyom Blazhievsky, who arrives from Avangard as Adamchuk heads to Omsk. Even without the addition of Sergei Zborovsky, not to mention emerging youngsters and several defensemen on try-outs (including Nikita Novikov on his return from North America), the signing of Kristian Khenkel alongside Daniil Pylenkov, Igor Ozhiganov and Artyom Sergeyev seemed dubious. And so it proved, with Khenkel’s contract cancelled last week.

There’s no obvious weak spot on Dynamo’s defense: there are plenty who can play a two-way game, and plenty of stay-at-home guys. As a bonus, recent rumors link Neftekhimik’s Luka Profaca with a move to the capital.

Offense

At present only four of last year’s forwards remain: Yegor Rimashevsky, Dylan Sikura, Jordan Weal and Artyom Shvets-Rogovoi (although Gusev remains under consideration). There are also new arrivals, so the Dynamo offense is not short on numbers and it also has some good variety. But in most cases, on-ice combinations will have to start from scratch. Weal and Sikura have an established connection, as do Rimashevsy and Shvets-Rogovoi to a lesser extent. Summer signings from Admiral Nikita Tertyshny and Pavel Shen have also played together, and for Tambijevs.

It’s fair to say that even without Gusev, Dynamo has players who can set up – and more importantly score – the goals. Nonetheless, the loss of a player of Gusev’s quality can only be a blow.

Youngsters

Dynamo has at least four promising defensemen but last season, even amid the injuries to Gotovets and Claesson, only Magomed Sharakanov played regularly. On a team with a less impressive collection of D-men, Sharakanov might easily have played 20 minutes a night; at Dynamo he enjoyed that kind of time just twice, and occasionally didn’t even get 10 minutes of action. Mario Patalakha and Timur Kol featured even less often while Kurban Limatov was only on the roster once and didn’t get onto the ice. All of these are capable of more, but if the team’s core defensemen stay fit they will struggle for opportunities to show their worth.

Sharakanov’s peer Yegor Rimashevsky has long established himself on the team, but his progress has slowed. Perhaps a change of coach will lift him out of a rut. It’s also assumed that Tabmbijevs will want to make use of other young forwards on the fringes of the first team. These might include Mikhail Melikov, 19, and Artyom Bondar, 20. They led Dynamo’s scoring in the junior league last season with 35+52 in 60 games for Melikov and 34+32 in 44 for Bondar. Daniil Davydov, 22, is back from loan at Severstal and will be looking for his chance. Each of these has been on target during the two warm-up games played to date.

Expectations

Any head coach has a big impact on the team’s performance, but for the new-look Dynamo this might be a bigger factor than usual. As mentioned above, much – if not everything – depends on how much common ground the players can find with their boss.

The stereotype of Tambijevs’ defensive hockey is another factor. Even a cursory look at the Dynamo roster is enough to identify more players who can create than defensive specialists. So it would seem counterproductive to drill this team into an ultra-defensive game plan.

So will coaches and players find that common ground? If they can, how quickly, and how well? Will the coach try to impose an unwelcome style on his players, or simply try to fine-tune the details? If Dynamo can find the right answers, they’ll be a tough opponent for any team with a great chance of getting to at least the second round, albeit little hope of winning the title. But if they can’t get it right, we could see another season of strife – either farce if a new coach is hastily appointed, or drama if the players and coach snipe at one another all year. The latter scenario would be short-lived, with Dynamo unlikely to go beyond the first round; regardless of circumstance, it’s hard to imagine this team missing the playoffs.