News

Last week’s news was dominated by the conclusion of one of the summer’s longer transfer sagas, amid several interesting moves. Meanwhile, this week is all about the first pre-season tournament of the summer, scheduled to take place in Minsk from Thursday.

Last week saw a first-time head coach appointed at Sochi, more pre-season action and a memorable farewell game for a two-time Gagarin Cup winner. But the biggest story of the week was a sad one – a record-breaking KHL goalie died at the tragically young age of 39.

This week is the last before the KHL’s players return to their clubs. Some have already seen action – Admiral tested its depth in a pre-season game in Minsk, while Alexander Radulov swapped sports as Lokomotiv kicked off its football season in Moscow. Rosters continue to take shape, and a top AHL goalie is on his way for the 2026/2027 season.

Sergei Brylin has been appointed as the new head coach of Dinamo Minsk, replacing Dmitry Kvartalnov after three successful seasons that saw the Belarusian club reach new heights in the KHL. The three-time Stanley Cup champion returns to Russia with extensive coaching experience from the NHL and AHL, as he takes on the challenge of building on Dinamo’s recent progress.

The big news of the week saw Dinamo Minsk confirm its new head coach – and bring a three-time Stanley Cup winner back to the league after more than a decade working in the USA. There’s a new tournament to celebrate Russian hockey’s origin story, and some big signings for Ilya Kovalchuk’s Shanghai Dragons.

Another lively week of trading saw Barys rebuild its D-core, while the KHL gets its first ever Turkish (youth) international as Shanghai Dragons add two new imports.

The countdown for the big return to pre-season on Aug. 1 is well underway. Last week brought new imports from Sweden and the USA, plus a fistful of Russians returning from North America. It also saw announcements of the first pre-season schedules, including details of six summer tournaments.

The highest-profile new import of the summer so far is here – and he’s heading to Chelyabinsk to try to fix Traktor’s goaltending problem. Lokomotiv says farewell to a long-serving two-time champion, and a Torpedo prospect is chosen in the first round of the NHL draft.

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.

Two record-breaking forwards were among the high-profile trades in the KHL this week. And we also saw the first new imports signing up for 2026/2027 – one entirely new, another returning after a season in Switzerland.

The first week of June is the first week of player trading in the close season – and we have a big new coaching appointment plus a host of imports on the move. The KHL also announced the host city for the 2027 Fonbet KHL All-Star Game.

The 2025/2026 KHL is officially over, with the tradition closing ceremony taking place last week. Here’s your recap of all the prizes handed out there, plus news of a long-serving import leaving his club and the transfer window opening today.

Canada’s Byron Froese, USA’s record-breaking Mitchel Miller, and Slovakia’s Martin Gernat and Richard Panik headline a championship cast that powered Lokomotiv’s second straight Gagarin Cup and closed the season with history written in gold. KHL.ru presents the best players from each country.

The KHL season came to a spectacular end on Thursday, with Lokomotiv completing a successful defense of the Gagarin Cup. And, after beating Ak Bars, the Yaroslavl club continued the celebrations at the weekend when the juniors won the Kharlamov Cup.

KHL.ru’s weekly column returns with Bob Hartley. It was a busy week for the Canadian bench boss: first, he led Lokomotiv to its second straight Gagarin Cup, lifting his second trophy in the league. Then, he announced his retirement.

Four games played, two wins apiece. Ak Bars and Lokomotiv look set to serve up another cup final for the ages. Read on for the inside track on the climactic battle of the season.

This is what it all comes down to – the 2026 Gagarin Cup final starts in Yaroslavl today. The match-up between Lokomotiv and Ak Bars is rich in sub-plots, as the Railwaymen look to defend their title against an opponent seeking a record-breaking fourth crown.

Gernat’s defensive reliability in decisive moments, Todd’s timely scoring presence and Jaskin’s consistent all-situations impact all proved decisive in their teams’ passage through the semifinals. KHL.ru presents the best players from each country.

KHL.ru’s weekly column returns with Lokomotiv’s forward Maxim Shalunov. As the playoffs go deeper, his importance to his team increases, cementing his reputation of one of the best players in the league in clutch moments.

Last week confirmed the first of this year’s Gagarin Cup finalists, while the second series remains tight. Elsewhere, another KHL player celebrated a move to the NHL.

For the first time ever, the opening games in the Gagarin Cup semi-finals went to the visiting teams. Avangard and Ak Bars enjoyed 5-2 wins at Lokomotiv and Metallurg respectively. The Hawks followed up with a second victory in Yaroslavl – can Ak Bars do the same in Magnitogorsk today?

Commentator for KHL TV channels and expert at KHL.ru, Anton Vasyatin, presents the top ten most prominent young players (U23) in the league based on their performance in the second round of the Gagarin Cup playoffs.

Fiore’s timely scoring, Barach’s reliability, Press stepping up again and Panik’s understated impact all proved key in the latest playoff matchups. KHL.ru presents the best players from each country.

KHL.ru’s weekly column goes on with Konstantin Okulov. After an exceptional performance in the Gagarin Cup playoffs’ series against his former team, CSKA, the Avangard man put on a seven-point performance, delivering when it mattered more and earning Best Forward honors for the second round.

We’re down to the last four in the race for the Gagarin Cup after wrapping up round two swiftly last week. Two teams swept into the semis, the other two series were done in five games. That sets up some mouthwatering encounters when action resumes Friday.

The second round of Gagarin Cup playoff action has seen great goaltending in Yaroslavl, thrilling finishes in Minsk, and vital scoring streaks for Avangard and Metallurg. Along the way, Andrei Stas became the fifth man to play 1,000 KHL games. And in the juniors, the first round of the playoffs produced the JHL’s longest-ever game.

Round 1 of the playoffs is done. From eight series, we saw one sweep and one pair go to six games. But every contest produced drama and special moments, with a sprinkling of KHL records along the way.

KHL.ru’s weekly column continues with Zach Fucale. The Canadian goalie had a strong showing in the elimination stage’s first round, helping Dinamo Minsk sweep Dynamo Moscow in the Western Conference. Next up, Dinamo Minsk will face Ak Bars.

Fucale’s consistency in goal and Press’ impact from the blue line highlight the opening round’s standout international performers, alongside other key contributors across the playoffs. KHL.ru presents the best players from each country.

One week into post season, and all 16 teams are still in the Gagarin Cup race. We’ve seen competitive, exciting hockey in every series – and we might see our first qualifiers advance later today.

Anas’ elite production, Sprong’s domination, Da Costa’s experience and Leivo’s consistency. KHL.ru presents the best players from each country.

KHL.ru’s weekly column returns with Damir Sharipzyanov. The Avangard defenseman just set a KHL record for the most single-season points from the blue line, surpassing Chris Lee’s 2016-2017 campaign.

Commentator for KHL TV channels and expert at KHL.ru, Anton Vasyatin, presents the top ten most prominent young players (U23) in the league based on their performance in the third month of the regular season.

The final week of the regular season brought a major scoring achievement, a quirky record that stood since 2009 and, of course, confirmation of the full playoff schedule. Read on to look back and look forward.

It has been mostly a quiet week for the league’s international players, but some stood out anyways, with Fiore netting his second KHL hat-trick and Anas continuing his strong pace. KHL.ru presents the best players from each country.

Going into the final week of the KHL regular season, we have a two-way battle for the last remaining playoff spot. The two conference winners, and the regular season champion, are confirmed – and there’s a possible regular season scoring record up for grabs.

Panik returns to production, Keane posts five points in one game, and Sulak keeps on rolling despite a rocky season for his team. KHL.ru presents the best players from each country.

KHL.ru’s weekly column returns with Barys’ forward Michael Vecchione. The American forward was the hero of the 2026 KHL World Games, hitting three goals in Barys’ 8:4 victory over the Shanghai Dragons.

China hosted top class hockey for the first time since Feb. 2020 when the KHL World Games visited Shanghai. Back in Russia, Sergei Plotnikov reached 1,000 games in the KHL and the playoff race narrowed down still further.