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The champion team lost its starting goalkeeper, captain, and one of the league’s toughest veterans over the summer, but overall, CSKA is no weaker. On the contrary, the Muscovites are ready to go for the new Cup and they have already showed that thumping Magnitka 6:2 in the Opening Cup game. KHL.ru finish its season preview with the reigning Gagarin Cup champions.

In Magnitogorsk, last season’s key players are coming back to Metallurg and the team has sought to strengthen key positions. KHL.ru looks at how Magnitka is preparing to do battle for another Gagarin Cup.

In just three years, the Chelyabinsk franchise went from not making the playoffs to the conference finals and bronze medals. Six leading hockey players left the team this summer, which will seriously hamper further progression. KHL.ru continues previewing the upcoming campaign with a visit to the Southern Urals.

Last season, SKA took CSKA all the way before losing in game seven of the Western Conference final. In the summer, the roster got a major makeover. KHL.ru looks at Petersburg’s latest attempt to land the Gagarin Cup.

Salavat Yulaev will be led into battle by a new head coach, who has already won the Gagarin Cup with the Ufa franchise as a player. KHL.ru checks whether the Ufa side will manage to blend its new players and the young forces that showed themselves in last year’s Gagarin Cup playoffs.

The final day of pre-season action saw Ak Bars win the Green Derby against Salavat Yulaev, while Torpedo lost to Metallurg Novokuznetsk in a shoot-out.

Avangard returns to Omsk after a four-year hiatus, but without Bob Hartley — the Canadian bench boss with whom the club’s major successes in the KHL are associated, has left the team. KHL.ru checks how Avangard is preparing its long-waited return to Omsk

It was D-day in the capital, with the classification games for the Mayor of Moscow Cup dominating the schedule. CSKA won the trophy thanks to a 4-1 win over Kunlun Red Star, Spartak beat Amur to third place and Dynamo edged Vityaz to finish fifth. Elsewhere, Lokomotiv enjoyed a 4-1 win over Salavat Yulaev, Sochi ended a difficult week with victory and Admiral avenged its recent loss in Minsk.

In recent seasons, Dynamo has been up among the leading contenders but has failed to get beyond the second round of the playoffs. Given the expectations around the club, that wasn’t good enough. KHL.ru looks at how the management is looking for a fundamental change in direction this season, jettisoning the team’s best-paid players.

Saturday brought the conclusion of Governor of Chelyabinsk Cup, and Traktor sealed victory on home ice with a 3-1 win over Avtomobilist. There were losses for the tournament hosts in Petersburg and Kazan. SKA lost 2-3 to Avangard, while Ak Bars was surprised by Neftekhimik in overtime. The Mayor of Moscow Cup will go to either CSKA or Kunlun Red Star; the two meet in Sunday’s final.

Spartak had a busy summer, including one of the biggest trades of preseason. The club also acquired several interesting new players. KHL.ru runs the rule over preparations as the Red-and-Whites look to at least match last year’s second round appearance.

The TANECO Cup got underway in Kazan and Ak Bars delivered a shut-out win over Lokomotiv in its first home game of the summer. There was a shoot-out win for Neftekhimik in the same competition, with Kunlun Red Star defeating Spartak in similar fashion in Moscow. Petersburg was the place for goals: SKA score five on Sochi, then Severstal put four past Avangard in the first nine minutes of their Puchkov Trophy encounter.

Ak Bars was the big newsmaker throughout the summer. Oleg Znarok took over as head coach in Kazan, Zinetula Bilyaletdinov returned to the club and the management assembled a veritable dream team of proven talent. KHL.ru checks out Tatarstan’s new look.

Thursday’s action came from three pre-season tournaments – and every game was a tight affair. Four out of five were decided by a single goal, and the other finished 3-1 after a last-second empty net tally. The Mayor of Moscow Cup started with wins for Spartak and Dynamo, Traktor and Avtomobilist bounced back from opening day losses in Chelyabinsk, and the Siberian derby went to Novosibirsk in the only game of the day at the Puchkov Tournament in Petersburg.

Last year’s performance wasn’t the best one for Lokomotiv, especially in the face of heightened expectations. Nevertheless, the Yaroslavl team didn’t go through a major rebuild, kept almost all of its leaders, and strengthened their position. KHL.ru continues its preview of the coming season with a look at how the Yaroslavl franchise can fare in the current campaign.

Wednesday saw the start of the Chelyabinsk Governor’s Cup, with wins for Barys and Metallurg on the opening day. The Puchkov Tournament continued in Petersburg, with Severstal beating Sochi before Sibir lost its first game of the competition against SKA. And there were wins for Torpedo and Dinamo Minsk in warm-up action.

Severstal’s fans are already getting used to regular trips to the playoffs, but can the team get beyond the first round in 2023? KHL.ru looks at how preparations are going in Cherepovets.

Three-goal second periods were the defining feature of Tuesday’s play. Both games in Petersburg were effectively settled when Avangard and SKA scored a trio of unanswered goals in the middle session. Earlier, CSKA did the same thing to CSKA in a warm-up game in Moscow.

Dinamo Minsk has been one of the busiest clubs this summer, making substantial changes to the roster. Will that be enough to take the Bison beyond the first round of the playoffs for the first time? KHL.ru investigates.

Monday’s solitary warm-up action had enough thrills for a full program. Dynamo battled back from 3-6 down to tie its game against Torpedo, but lost out in a shoot-out.

Sibir had an inconsistent showing last term: a poor start was replaced by a strong, but not very entertaining game in the middle of the regular season; and in the playoffs there was a stubborn but short-lived resistance to Salavat Yulaev. Now it seems that the side is shifting to a more attacking model. KHL.ru continues its preview of the coming campaign in Novosibirsk.

It was all change at Kunlun Red Star this summer, with a new head coach, fresh imports arriving from North America and a move to the Western Conference. KHL.ru continues its preview of the coming season with a look at how our Chinese franchise is hoping to force its way back into the playoff picture.

Saturday brought three more warm-up games. Two of them were rehearsals for the upcoming Mayor of Moscow Cup, with Dynamo defeating Spartak and Vityaz edging Amur. The third saw SKA end its time in Sochi with a win.

As Neftekhimik looks to quickly integrate its new signings into the team and compensate for the loss of several leaders, KHL.ru gives the lowdown on how Nizhnekamsk is preparing for the coming season.

The final game day of the President of Kazakhstan Cup was a de facto finals day. Neftekhimik faced Avtomobilist for third place, then Barys and Metallurg faced off for top spot.

The Kazakh franchise has undergone some big changes: only Nikita Mikhailis remains from last year’s top unit, and the defense is much different. But the head coach, who had already built a very strong team in Barys a few seasons ago, returned to the Kazakh capital. KHL.ru continues its report on the summer activity around the league with a look at Barys Nur-Sultan.

Amur and Spartak met for the second time this summer and the Tigers came out on top once again. Both teams went with line-ups that were close to full strength. Spartak made several changes from the youthful roster that lost 4-7 to Ak Bars last time out, while Amur’s only obvious understudy was goalie Dmitry Lozebnikov who started in place of Evgeny Alikin.

At the very beginning of the offseason, Torpedo impressed the fans with the appointment of Igor Larionov as head coach. Now the famous Professor will try to get the team back to the playoffs. KHL.ru continues its report on the summer activity around the league with a look at Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod.

Day two of the President of Kazakhstan Cup saw Metallurg post its second victory and move clear at the top of the standings. Barys moves to second after posting its first win of the summer.

Avtomobilist missed out on last season’s playoffs, but the Ural club has not undergone major restoration work this summer. KHL.ru continues its preview of the coming campaign in Yekaterinburg.

The opening day of the President of Kazakhstan Cup saw Barys begin its pre-season campaign. Despite leading three times against Avtomobilist, the tournament host suffered an overtime loss in its opening game. In the other action in Nur-Sultan, Metallurg won 4-1 against Neftekhimik. Torpedo defeated Dizel Penza in the only warm-up game of the day.

In the Far East it’s all change as the Tigers look to find a way back to the playoffs. KHL.ru continues its report on the summer activity around the league with a look at Amur Khabarovsk.

Ak Bars took swift revenge for Sunday’s loss at Spartak, while Torpedo eased to victory over its farm club in Monday’s pre-season action.

KHL.ru continues its traditional pre-season summary of our clubs. Today we’re focussing on Vityaz. After two seasons out of the playoffs, the team is moving to Balashikha and an arena with a rich history of post season hockey.

Sunday’s two warm-up games saw CSKA hammered 1-6 in Minsk in the defending champion’s opening pre-season game. In Moscow, Spartak got its first win of the summer with a 3-2 verdict over Ak Bars.

KHL.ru continues its round-up of each club’s progress towards the start of the new season with a look at HC Sochi. The Black Sea boys kept hold of their leaders and are looking to battle for a long-awaited playoff spot.

The Republic of Bashkortostan Cup goes to Salavat Yulaev after a comfortable victory over Severstal in Saturday’s decisive game. Dynamo Moscow takes second place despite a shoot-out loss against Lokomotiv earlier in the day. The only warm-up game saw Kunlun Red Star begin its summer program with a 4-1 victory over Vityaz.

KHL.ru starts the series about the state of the clubs approaching the start of the new season. Admiral has done serious work on the transfer market, retained the head coach Leonid Tambijevs, and is preparing to seriously fight for the playoffs.

Friday saw the conclusion of Magnitogorsk’s summer tournament, and Traktor confirmed top spot despite losing in overtime against Amur. Avtomobilist edged a nine-goal thriller, also in the extras. Vityaz played its first game at its new home arena in Balashikha, but suffered a 1-3 loss to Ak Bars.

Day two of the Republic of Bashkortostan Cup saw host team Salavat Yulaev move clear of the rest with a win over Lokomotiv. In the earlier game, Dynamo edged Severstal in a nine-goal thriller.