The 2008–09 KHL season was the inaugural season of the Kontinental Hockey League. It started on September 2, 2008, and finished on April 12, 2009. 24 teams each played 56 games.
League business
NHL player transfer KHL teams signed several players from the NHL, including Jaromír Jágr, Alexander Radulov, Ray Emery, Sergei Brylin, Ladislav Nagy, Jozef Stümpel, Marcel Hossa, Ben Clymer, Alexei Zhitnik, Bryan Berard and Chris Simon.
Dispute A dispute between the two leagues over some of these signings was supposed to have been resolved by an agreement signed on July 10, whereby each league would honor the contracts of the other, but the signing of Alexander Radulov was made public one day after the agreement (though it was actually signed two days prior to the agreement taking effect), leading to an investigation by the International Ice Hockey Federation.Predator inks debatable deal – iihf.com
Finances
Ownership On a deal dated October 30, Magnitogorsk Iron and Steel Works bought 11.76% of the KHL.
Salary cap The league has implemented a salary cap.
Economic trouble Metallurg Novokuznetsk experienced difficulty financing its operations due to the Great Recession. Team sponsor Evraz Group was rumoured to cut funding.
HC MVD experienced delays in paying players, while Khimik Voskresensk has run itself into debt. Metallurg Magnitogorsk has been forced to cut staff expenditures by 30%. Avangard Omsk owner Roman Abramovich has promised to continue financial support so long as the team maintains good results. Other teams experiencing financial limitations are Vityaz Chekhov, Atlant Moscow Oblast, Lokomotiv Yaroslavl, HC CSKA Moscow.
As far as the league is concerned it has devised a "crisis package" for dealing with the economic turmoil. Cuts will be made to non-salary expenditures, such as pre-game activity, training camps, and elimination of pre-season tournaments. Mid-level player salaries may also be rolled back. Divisional re-alignment will also take place for the 2009–10 season to cut down on travel costs.
Inaugural All-Star Game The inaugural KHL All-Star Game took place on January 10, 2009. Each team consisted of ten forwards, five defensemen, and two goaltenders. The starting rosters were voted upon on the KHL.ru website and decided by December 22. The secondary lines and goaltenders were to be voted upon by the media, and announced December 26, with the following players and reserves announced by January 8. The game took place in Moscow's Red Square, with Team Jágr (International All-Stars) defeating Team Yashin (Russian All-Stars) 7–6.
Regular season
Death of Alexei Cherepanov
On October 13, 2008 during a match between Avangard Omsk and Vityaz Chekhov, forward Alexei Cherepanov died due to a heart condition.
On December 29, 2008, Russian investigators revealed that he suffered from myocarditis, a condition where not enough blood gets to the heart, and that he should not have been playing professional hockey. The federal Investigative Committee also announced that a chemical analysis of Cherepanov's blood and urine samples allowed experts to conclude "that for several months Alexei Cherepanov engaged in doping". Official sources have stated the banned substance taken was nikethamide, a stimulant, and that it had been taken 3 hours prior to the game in which he died.
Omsk club director Mikhail Denisov has since been fired, whereas the league Disciplinary Committee has since removed Omsk's doctors from that role with the club, and has suspended Avangard general manager Anatoly Bardin and team president Konstantin Potapov. The KHL Disciplinary Committee met on this matter on January 5, and also suspended Chekhov's team president.
League standings
Final standings.
Points have been awarded as follows: 3 Points for a win in regulation ("W") 2 Points for a win in overtime ("OTW") or penalty shootout ("SOW") 1 Point for a loss in a penalty shootout ("SOL") or overtime ("OTL") 0 Points for a loss in regulation ("L")
Division winner Qualified for playoffs
RankTeam GP W OTW SOW SOL OTL L GF GA Pts1 Salavat Yulaev Ufa56 38 4 1 3 2 8 203 116 1292 Ak Bars Kazan56 36 1 3 3 3 10 189 123 1223 Lokomotiv Yaroslavl56 32 2 2 4 3 13 175 111 1114 CSKA Moscow56 27 4 3 7 4 11 176 141 1065 Atlant Moscow Oblast56 35 3 4 2 1 11 189 111 1226 Metallurg Magnitogorsk56 25 2 11 2 1 15 174 148 1047 Dynamo Moscow56 27 4 3 3 2 17 184 143 1008 SKA Saint Petersburg56 26 2 7 4 0 17 143 105 1009 Spartak Moscow56 26 1 5 2 1 21 173 158 9310 Dinamo Riga56 24 3 2 3 1 23 132 1568611 Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod56 24 2 2 3 1 24 162 162 8412 Traktor Chelyabinsk56 24 0 2 5 3 22 142 166 8413 Lada Togliatti56 21 3 5 2 3 22 120 116 8414 Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk56 22 2 1 5 2 24 146 140 7915 Barys Astana56 20 3 4 2 2 25 174 191 7816 Avangard Omsk56 19 2 6 1 4 24 161 164 7817 Severstal Cherepovets56 19 1 7 2 2 25 142 171 7718 HC MVD56 20 2 4 1 0 29 142 159 7319 Sibir Novosibirsk56 15 1 5 2 5 28 146 172 6420 Amur Khabarovsk56 15 2 2 6 1 30 111 158 6021 Metallurg Novokuznetsk56 12 3 2 5 2 31 127 157 5422 Dinamo Minsk56 12 1 2 5 2 34 124 197 4923 Vityaz Chekhov 566 2 3 7 5 33 134 225 4024 Khimik Voskresensk56 8 3 0 7 2 36 108 187 39
Divisional standing
DR LR Bobrov Division GP W OTW SOW SOL OTL L GF GA Pts1 1 Salavat Yulaev Ufa56 38 4 1 3 2 8 203 116 1292 5 Atlant Moscow Oblast56 35 3 4 2 1 11 189 111 1223 9 Spartak Moscow56 26 1 5 2 1 21 173 158 934 17 Severstal Cherepovets56 19 1 7 2 2 25 142 171 775 21 Metallurg Novokuznetsk56 12 3 2 5 2 31 127 157 546 22 Dinamo Minsk56 12 1 2 5 2 34 124 197 49
DR LR Tarasov Division GP W OTW SOW SOL OTL L GF GA Pts1 4 CSKA Moscow56 27 4 3 7 4 11 176 141 1062 6 Metallurg Magnitogorsk56 25 2 11 2 1 15 174 148 1043 8 SKA Saint Petersburg56 26 2 7 4 0 17 143 105 1004 12 Traktor Chelyabinsk56 24 0 2 5 3 22 142 166 845 18 HC MVD56 20 2 4 1 0 29 142 159 736 24 Khimik Voskresensk56 8 3 0 7 2 36 108 187 39
DR LR Kharlamov Division GP W OTW SOW SOL OTL L GF GA Pts1 3 Lokomotiv Yaroslavl56 32 2 2 4 3 13 175 111 1112 10 Dinamo Riga56 24 3 2 3 1 23 132 156863 13 Lada Togliatti56 21 3 5 2 3 22 120 116 844 16 Avangard Omsk56 19 2 6 1 4 24 161 164 785 19 Sibir Novosibirsk56 15 1 5 2 5 28 146 172 646 20 Amur Khabarovsk56 15 2 2 6 1 30 11 158 60
DR LR Chernyshev Division GP W OTW SOW SOL OTL L GF GA Pts1 2 Ak Bars Kazan56 36 1 3 3 3 10 189 123 1222 7 Dynamo Moscow56 27 4 3 3 2 17 184 143 1003 11 Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod56 24 2 2 3 1 24 162 162 844 14 Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk56 22 2 1 5 2 24 146 140 795 15 Barys Astana56 20 3 4 2 2 25 174 191 786 23 Vityaz Chekhov 566 2 3 7 5 33 134 225 40
League leaders
Goals Jan Marek (Magnitogorsk) 35 Assists Sergei Mozyakin (Atlant) 42 Points Sergei Mozyakin (Atlant) 76 Shots Kevin Dallman (Astana) 218 Plus–minus Alexei Tereschenko (Ufa) +41 Penalty minutes Chris Simon (Chekhov) 263 Wins (Goaltenders) Georgi Gelashvili (Yaroslavl) 30 Goals against average Dmitri Yachanov (SKA) 1.47 Save percentage Vitaly Kolesnik (Atlant) .945 Goaltenders: minimum 15 games played
Scoring leaders GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/– = P Plus–minus; PIM = Penalty minutes
Player Team GP G A Pts +/– PIM Atlant Moscow Oblast 56 34 42 76 +34 14 Metallurg Magnitogorsk 53 35 37 72 +26 62 Ak Bars Kazan 49 32 39 71 +22 22 Ak Bars Kazan 56 34 31 65 +26 26 Barys Astana 53 28 30 58 +6 137 Salavat Yulaev Ufa 55 28 30 58 +41 22 Avangard Omsk 55 25 28 53 −1 62 Atlant Moscow Oblast 56 21 32 53 +21 32 Salavat Yulaev Ufa 55 28 24 52 +34 32 Barys Astana 56 28 24 52 −7 30
Playoffs
Playoff leaders
Source: khl.ru
Goals Jukka Hentunen (Kazan) 9 Assists Alexei Morozov (Kazan) Alexei Yashin (Yaroslavl) 11 Points Alexei Morozov (Kazan) 19 Shots Danis Zaripov (Kazan) 71 Plus–minus Ilya Nikulin (Kazan) +13 Penalty minutes Grigori Panin (Kazan) 69 Wins (Goaltenders) Georgi Gelashvili (Yaroslavl) 13 Goals against average Vitali Yeremeyev (Dynamo M) 1.63 Save percentage Alexander Pimankin (Nizhny Novgorod) 94.4 Shutouts Georgi Gelashvili (Yaroslavl) 5 Goaltenders: minimum 5 games played
Scoring leaders Source: khl.ru
GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/– = P Plus–minus; PIM = Penalty minutes
Player Team GP G A Pts +/– PIM Alexei Morozov Ak Bars Kazan 21 8 11 19 +8 12 Alexei Yashin Lokomotiv Yaroslavl 19 7 11 18 +3 10 Tony Mårtensson Ak Bars Kazan 21 7 9 16 +10 2 Mattias Weinhandl Dynamo Moscow 12 6 10 16 +8 4 Danis Zaripov Ak Bars Kazan 21 6 10 16 +9 8
Leading goaltenders Source: khl.ru
GP = Games played; Min = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; GA = Goals against; SO = Shutouts; SV% = Save percentage; GAA = Goals against average
Player Team GP Min W L GA SO SV% GAA Vitali Yeremeyev Dynamo Moscow 12 700:01 8 4 19 1 .927 1.63 Stanislav Galimov Ak Bars Kazan 7 396:05 3 2 11 1 .926 1.67 Jussi Markkanen CSKA Moscow 7 379:16 3 3 11 2 .934 1.74 Georgi Gelashvili Lokomotiv Yaroslavl 19 1,129:56 13 6 33 5 .933 1.75 Ray Emery Atlant Moscow Oblast 7 418:56 4 3 13 1 .941 1.86
Awards
Players of the Month
Best KHL players of each month.KHL Best players (in Russian)
MonthGoaltenderDefenseForwardRookieSeptember Alexander Eremenko (Ufa) Magnus Johansson (Atlant) Sergei Mozyakin (Atlant) Maxim Kitsyn (Novokuznetsk)October Vitaly Kolesnik (Atlant) Ilya Nikulin (Kazan) Jan Marek (Magnitogorsk) Andrei Kolesnikov (Chekhov)November Robert Esche (St. Petersburg) Konstantin Korneyev (CSKA) Alexei Tereshchenko (Ufa) Stanislav Galimov (Kazan)December Martin Prusek (Riga) Karel Rachůnek (Dynamo M) Danis Zaripov (Kazan) Alexandr Vasiliev (Chekhov)January Vitaliy Yeremeyev (Dynamo M) Vitali Proshkin (Ufa) Alexander Korolyuk (Atlant) Alexandr Vasiliev (Chekhov)February Dimitrij Kotschnew (Spartak) Peter Podhradský (Torpedo) Danis Zaripov (Kazan) Stepan Zakharchuk (Togliatti)March Georgi Gelashvili (Yaroslavl) Ilya Nikulin (Kazan) Mattias Weinhandl (Dynamo M)
KHL Awards On 15 May 2009, the KHL held their first award ceremony. A total of 23 different awards were handed out to teams, players, officials and media.Kontinental Hockey League Awarded Laureates Of 2008/2009 Season khl.ru, 2009-05-15. Accessed 2009-06-20. Archived 2009-06-22. The most important trophies are listed in the table below.
Golden Hockey Stick Trophy (regular-season MVP) Danis Zaripov (Kazan) Play-off Master Award (play-off MVP) Alexei Morozov (Kazan) Alexei Cherepanov Award (best rookie) Ilya Proskuryakov (Magnitogorsk)
References