Kontinental Hockey League Explained

Kontinental Hockey League
Current Season:2025–26 KHL season
Pixels:190px
Formerly:Russian Superleague (RSL)
Sport:Ice hockey
Game:Hockey
Motto: (Hockey is our game!)


[1]
Teams:22
Champion:Lokomotiv Yaroslavl
(1st title)
Most Champs:HC CSKA Moscow
Ak Bars Kazan
Metallurg Magnitogorsk
(3 titles each)
Sponsor:Fonbet
President:Alexei Morozov

The Kontinental Hockey League (KHL; ru|Континентальная хоккейная лига (КХЛ)|Kontinental'naya khokkeynaya liga) is an international professional ice hockey league founded in 2008. It comprises member clubs based in Russia (19), Belarus (1), Kazakhstan (1), and China (1) for a total of 22 clubs.

The KHL had in 2025 total attendance of 5,706,785 spectators in the regular season[2] and the average attendance of 7,256 spectators per game in the regular season.[3] The Gagarin Cup is awarded annually to the league's playoff champion at the end of each season.

History

History

The league formed from the Russian Superleague (RSL) and the champion of the 2007–08 season of the second division, with 24 teams: 21 from Russia and one each from Belarus, Latvia, and Kazakhstan. The teams were divided into four divisions, based on the performance in previous seasons.

The start of the fourth season was overshadowed by the 2011 Lokomotiv Yaroslavl plane crash on 7 September 2011 in which almost all members of the team Lokomotiv Yaroslavl lost their lives shortly after take-off for their flight to their season-opening game in Minsk. The Opening Cup game in Ufa, which was already underway when news of the disaster arrived, was suspended. In memory of the disaster, 7 September remained a day of mourning on which no KHL regular-season games took place,[4] until after the 2017–18 KHL season. Journalist Vsevolod Kukushkin acted as the first press secretary for the league, after it evolved from the Superleague.[5]

After the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, the National Hockey League suspended operation of its Memorandum of Understanding with the KHL.[6] An NHL memo instructed NHL teams to "immediately cease all dealings [direct or indirect] with the KHL and KHL Clubs [and all representatives of both], as well as with player agents who are based in and continue to do business in Russia."[6]

Team changes

See main article: Kontinental Hockey League team changes and Potential Kontinental Hockey League expansion.

2009–2014

In the 2009–10 season, Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg joined the KHL and Khimik Voskresensk was transferred to a lower league. In the 2010–11 season, Yugra Khanty-Mansiysk joined the league.

After several attempts by teams from Central Europe and Scandinavia to join the KHL, expansion beyond the borders of the former Soviet Union was finally realized in 2011. Lev Poprad, a newly founded team based in Poprad, Slovakia was admitted to the league. But after only one season, Lev was replaced by a team of the same name, Lev Praha, from Prague, Czech Republic, while Slovan Bratislava from Bratislava, Slovakia and Ukraine's Donbass from Donetsk joined the KHL as expansion teams for the 2012–13 season.[7] Lev and Slovan qualified for the playoffs in their first KHL season.

In 2013, Medveščak from Zagreb, Croatia, previously playing in the Austrian Hockey League, and Russian expansion team Admiral Vladivostok joined the league, thus expanding the league even further.[8] The league comprised 28 teams during the 2013–14 season, of which 21 were based in Russia and 7 located in the other countries.

In 2014, Finnish team Jokerit from Helsinki, Lada Togliatti (which previously played in the league), and newly created team HC Sochi joined the league.[9] However, HC Donbass did not play in the league for the 2014–15 season, due to the Russia's involvement in the Donbas war in Ukraine, but had intended to rejoin later.[10] Two other teams, Lev Praha and Spartak Moscow, also withdrew from the 2014–15 season due to financial problems.[11] [12]

2015–2019

Before the 2015–16 season, Atlant Moscow Oblast withdrew from the KHL due to financial issues, while Spartak Moscow returned after a one-year hiatus.[13] The newly created Chinese club HC Kunlun Red Star from Beijing was admitted for the 2016–17 season.[14] Kunlun was established as part of China’s efforts to prepare a competitive national team for the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.[15]

Before the 2017–18 season, Medveščak Zagreb withdrew from the league to rejoin the Austrian league and Metallurg Novokuznetsk was sent down to the VHL.[16]

After the end of the 2018–19 season, HC Slovan Bratislava withdrew from the KHL due to financial issues to rejoin the Slovak Tipsport Liga.[17]

2020–present

On 24 February 2022, Finnish club Jokerit announced the team would withdraw from the league for the remainder of the season, including the playoffs, due to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.[18] On 27 February 2022, Latvian club Dinamo Riga announced that they too would withdraw for the same reasons.[19] Before the 2023–24 season, HC Lada Togliatti rejoined the KHL.

Season structure

Since 2009, the league has been divided into East and West conferences. In the current season, both conferences include 12 teams divided into two divisions of 6 teams. Each team plays four games against each division opponent (20), three games against each non-division conference opponent (18), and two games against each non-conference opponent (24) for a total of 62 games.[20]

The eight top-ranked teams in each conference receive playoff berths. Within each conference quarterfinals, semifinals and finals are played before the conference winners play against each other for the Gagarin Cup. The division winners are seeded first and second in their conference, based on their regular-season record. All playoff rounds are played as best-of-seven series. In each round, the top-seeded remaining team is paired with the lowest-seeded team, etc.[21]

In the 2012–13 season, the Nadezhda Cup (Cup of Hope) was introduced, a consolation tournament for the teams who did not qualify for the playoffs. The winning team in the tournament wins the first overall pick in the KHL Junior Draft. The tournament is intended to extend the season and help maintain interest in hockey in the cities of these teams, and help players of national teams prepare for upcoming World Championships.[22]

Teams

Conference! scope="col"
DivisionTeamCityArenaCapacityFoundedJoinedHead CoachCaptain
BobrovSKA Saint Petersburg Saint PetersburgIce Palace12,30019462008 Igor Larionov Sergei Plotnikov
HC Sochi Sochi, Krasnodar KraiBolshoy Ice Dome12,0352014 Dmitri Mikhailov Pavel Dedunov
Spartak Moscow MoscowMegasport Arena12,39619462008 Alexei Zhamnov Andrei Mironov
Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod Nizhny Novgorod, Nizhny Novgorod OblastTrade Union Sport Palace5,50019472008 Alexei Isakov Alexei Kruchinin
Lada Togliatti Tolyatti, Samara OblastLada Arena6,03419762023 Pavel Desyatkov Vladislav Syomin
TarasovCSKA Moscow MoscowCSKA Arena12,30019462008 Igor Nikitin Pavel Karnaukhov
Dinamo Minsk Minsk, BelarusMinsk-Arena15,08620042008 Dmitri Kvartalnov Andrei Stas
Dynamo Moscow MoscowVTB Arena10,523 19462008 Vyacheslav Kozlov Igor Ozhiganov
Shanghai Dragons Shanghai, China (Saint Petersburg)SKA Arenaalign=center 21,5202025 Mitch Love Spencer Foo
Lokomotiv Yaroslavl Yaroslavl, Yaroslavl OblastArena 20008,65319592008 Bob Hartley Alexander Yelesin
Severstal Cherepovets Cherepovets, Vologda OblastIce Palace5,53619562008 Andrei Kozyrev Adam Liška
KharlamovAk Bars Kazan Kazan, TatarstanTatneft Arena8,96519562008 Anvar Gatiyatulin Alexei Marchenko
Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg Yekaterinburg, Sverdlovsk OblastUMMC Arena12,49920062009 Nikolai Zavarukhin Nikita Tryamkin
Metallurg Magnitogorsk Magnitogorsk, Chelyabinsk OblastArena Metallurg7,70419502008 Andrei Razin Alexei Maklyukov
Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk Nizhnekamsk, TatarstanSCC Arena5,50019682008 Igor Grishin Nikita Khlystov
Traktor Chelyabinsk Chelyabinsk, Chelyabinsk OblastTraktor Ice Arena7,50019472008 Yevgeni Koreshkov Alexander Kadeikin
ChernyshevAdmiral Vladivostok Vladivostok, Primorsky KraiFetisov Arena5,9152013 Ilnur Gizatullin Libor Šulák
Amur Khabarovsk Khabarovsk, Khabarovsk KraiPlatinum Arena7,10019662008 Alexander Andrievsky Evgeny Grachyov
Avangard Omsk Omsk, Omsk OblastG-Drive Arena12,01119502008 Guy Boucher Damir Sharipzyanov
Barys Astana Astana, KazakhstanBarys Arena11,62619992008 Mikhail Kravets Kirill Savitski
Salavat Yulaev Ufa Ufa, BashkortostanUfa Arena8,52219572008 Viktor Kozlov Grigori Panin
Sibir Novosibirsk Novosibirsk, Novosibirsk OblastSibir-Arena11,65019622008 Yaroslav Lyuzenkov Sergei Shirokov
Name!scope="col"
CityArenaCreationSeasons
Khimik VoskresenskPodmoskovie Ice Palace2005 2008–2009
HC MVD2004 2008–2010
Lev Poprad2010 2011–2012
HC DonbassDruzhba Arena20012012–2014
Lev PrahaTipsport Arena20122012–2014
Atlant MytichtchiMytishchi Arena19532008–2015
Metallurg NovokuznetskKuznetsk Metallurgists Sports Palace1949 2008–2017
Medveščak ZagrebDom Sportova1961 2013–2017
Yugra Khanty-MansiyskArena Ugra20062010–2018
Slovan BratislavaOndrej Nepela Arena1921 2012–2019
Jokerit HelsinkiHartwall Arena1967 2014–2022
Dinamo RigaArena Riga2008 2008–2022
HC VityazBalashikha Arena1996 2008–2025

Players

Before the inaugural season, several KHL teams signed several players from the NHL.[23] A dispute between the two leagues over some of these signings was supposed to have been resolved by an agreement signed on 10 July 2008, whereby each league would honor the contracts of the other, but the signing of Alexander Radulov by the KHL was made public one day after the agreement (though it was actually signed two days before the agreement taking effect),[24] leading to an investigation by the International Ice Hockey Federation.[25] On 4 October 2010, the conflict between the leagues was settled when both signed a new agreement to honor one another's contracts.[26]

The league also set up rules for the NHL lockout which lasted from 16 September 2012 to 12 January 2013. According to these regulations, each KHL team was allowed to add up to three NHL players to its roster, with only one foreign player allowed.[27] 40 NHL players, the majority of them Russians, played in the KHL during the lockout.

For the 2012–13 season, the KHL board limited Russian clubs to a maximum of five foreign players on their roster and required non-Russian clubs to have at least five players from their respective countries. Foreign goaltenders on Russian teams also became subject to a limit regarding their total seasonal ice time.[28] In response to restrictions on Russian athletes following the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, the limit on foreign players for Russian clubs was initially reduced to three for the 2023–24 season,[29] then restored to five for the 2024-25 season and onwards.[30]

KHL players are represented by the Kontinental Hockey League Players' Trade Union.[31]

After the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, some non-Russian players elected to leave their teams, at the risk of forfeiting their salaries. The departing players included former NHL players Markus Granlund, Nick Shore, Geoff Platt, Kenny Agostino, Teemu Hartikainen, Philip Larsen, Sakari Manninen, Harri Säteri, Jyrki Jokipakka, Joakim Nordström, Lucas Wallmark, and Juho Olkinuora.[6] [32]

Nationalities of players

During the 2023–2024 season, players representing 18 nations played at least one game in the KHL.[33] A player's nationality is for various reasons sometimes ambiguous. For the table presented below, the nationality "is determined based on the last country that the player represented in international competition. If a player has never played for a national team, usually the country of birth is chosen as the player nationality, unless there is strong evidence indicating otherwise".[34]

For players born in former Soviet republics, the situation is often more complex due to dual citizenship and naturalization. For instance, a list of players born in Ukraine gives case-by-case details for some of those players. China has also given citizenship to several hockey players without Chinese ancestry for them to compete internationally for China while allowing them to maintain their previous citizenship.[35] In some cases, players can change their nationality registration with the league on a year-by-year basis, and their nationality with the league may not match that of their International Ice Hockey Federation registration. Non-Russians represented about 30–35% of KHL players and were mostly Central European, Nordic, and North American. Following the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, some non-Russian players elected to leave their teams and clubs Jokerit Helsinki and Dinamo Riga left the league, reducing non-Russians to about 25% of KHL players. In 2023–24, more than 800 players played at least one game in the league (see table below). Russian teams are currently limited to a maximum of three foreign players.—

Country (current number of teams)Players active (2008-09)[36] Players active (2009-10)[37] Players active (2010–11)[38] Players active (2011-12)[39] Players active
(2012–13)[40]
Players active
(2013–14)[41]
Players active
(2014–15)[42]
Players active
(2015–16)[43]
Players active
(2016–17)[44]
Players active
(2017–18)[45]
Players active
(2018–19)[46]
Players active
(2019–20)[47]
Players active
(2020–21)[48]
Players active
(2021–22)[49]
Players active
(2022–23)[50]
Players active
(2023–24)[51]
Austria12111
Belarus (1 team)32312425354650434038344950424450
Canada34282919316150355453596248566258
China (1 team)32105
Croatia3223111
Czech Republic313033414647293535332820232046
Denmark1124356432
Estonia1121
Finland8161334037504751404244533911
France1123111211
Germany3222133123222
Italy22
Israel11
Japan11
Kazakhstan (1 team)43373732353634413329242318182129
Latvia312628273532293332312835332521
Lithuania13221211
Norway11233311
Russia (19 teams)538532492475539569592632 663644580571638565626629
Slovakia172228285143322727232466999
Slovenia24444311
South Korea111
Sweden111217202422282724262632353974
Switzerland11
Ukraine12128410112254221111
United States11685121925192320191417141723
Total7737587277158639369369561,006956884868933847806819

Trophies and awards

The winner of the playoff is awarded the Gagarin Cup. The highest placed Russian team is awarded the Championship of Russia. The team ranked first in the standings after the regular season, i.e. the winner of the regular season, is awarded the Continental Cup[52] (ru|Кубок Континента, Kubok Kontinenta). The winners of the conference finals are awarded the Eastern Conference Champion Cup (ru|Кубок Победителю конференции Восток, Kubok Pobeditelyu konferentsii Vostok) and the Western Conference Champion Cup (ru|Кубок Победителю конференции Запад, Kubok Pobeditelyu konferentsii Zapad).[53]

The KHL presents annual awards to its most successful players. The KHL also awards the Opening Cup annually to the winner of the first game between the Gagarin Cup winner and the runner-up of the previous season. On 10 September 2011, three days after the 2011 Lokomotiv Yaroslavl plane crash, the KHL head office decided to honor the deceased in the 2011 Opening Cup.[54] The League gives the Andrey Starovoytov Award annually to its referees of the year, also called the "Golden Whistle".[55]

Seasons overview

SeasonTeams Gagarin Cup Winner Gagarin Cup finalistFinal score Continental Cup WinnerTop scorer
2008–0924 Ak Bars KazanLokomotiv Yaroslavl4–3 Salavat Yulaev Ufa (129 points)Sergei Mozyakin (76 points: 34 G, 42 A)
2009–1024 Ak Bars KazanHC MVD4–3 Salavat Yulaev Ufa (129 points)Sergei Mozyakin (66 points: 27 G, 39 A)
2010–1123 Salavat Yulaev Ufa4–1 Avangard Omsk (118 points) Alexander Radulov (80 points: 20 G, 60 A)
2011–1223 Dynamo MoscowAvangard Omsk4–3 Traktor Chelyabinsk (114 points)Alexander Radulov (63 points: 25 G, 38 A)
2012–1326 Dynamo MoscowTraktor Chelyabinsk4–2 SKA Saint Petersburg (115 points)Sergei Mozyakin (76 points: 35 G, 41 A)
2013–1428 Metallurg Magnitogorsk 4–3 Dynamo Moscow (115 points)Sergei Mozyakin (73 points: 34 G, 39 A)
2014–1528 SKA Saint Petersburg 4–1 CSKA Moscow (139 points) Alexander Radulov (71 points: 24 G, 47 A)
2015–1628 Metallurg Magnitogorsk 4–3 CSKA Moscow (127 points)Sergei Mozyakin (67 points: 32 G, 35 A)
2016–1729 SKA Saint Petersburg 4–1 CSKA Moscow (137 points)Sergei Mozyakin (85 points: 48 G, 37 A)
2017–1827 Ak Bars Kazan 4–1 SKA Saint Petersburg (138 points) Ilya Kovalchuk (63 points: 31 G, 32 A)
2018–1925 CSKA Moscow 4–0 CSKA Moscow (106 points) Nikita Gusev (82 points: 17 G, 65 A)
2019–2024 Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemicCSKA Moscow (94 points) Vadim Shipachyov (65 points: 17 G, 48 A)
23 Avangard Omsk 4–2 CSKA Moscow (91 points) Vadim Shipachyov (66 points; 20 G, 46 A)
2021–2224 CSKA Moscow 4–3 Not determined Vadim Shipachyov (67 points: 24 G, 43 A)
2022–2322 CSKA Moscow Ak Bars Kazan4–3SKA Saint Petersburg (105 points)Dmitrij Jaškin (62 points: 40 G, 22 A)
2023–2423Metallurg MagnitogorskLokomotiv Yaroslavl4–0Dynamo Moscow (98 points)Nikita Gusev (89 points: 23 G, 66 A)
2024–2523Lokomotiv YaroslavlTraktor Chelyabinsk4–1Lokomotiv Yaroslavl (102 points)Josh Leivo (80 points: 49 G, 31 A)
Season Opening Cup Winner Nadezhda Cup Winner Golden Stick (Regular Season MVP)Playoff MVP
Nadezhda Cup not yet introduced Danis ZaripovAlexei Morozov
Alexander RadulovIlya Nikulin
Alexander RadulovKonstantin Barulin
Alexander RadulovAlexander Yeryomenko
Sergei MozyakinAlexander Yeryomenko
Sergei MozyakinSergei Mozyakin
Cancelled due to economic reasons Alexander RadulovIlya Kovalchuk
Not contested Sergei MozyakinSergei Mozyakin
Sergei MozyakinVasily Koshechkin
Nikita GusevJustin Azevedo
Kirill KaprizovIlya Sorokin
Dmitrij JaškinCancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic
2020–21Ak Bars KazanVadim ShipachyovSergey Tolchinsky
2021–22Avangard OmskVadim ShipachyovAleksandr Popov
2022–23CSKA MoscowDmitrij JaškinMikhail Grigorenko
2023–24Ak Bars KazanNikita GusevIlya Nabokov

Statistics

Single season records

Regular season

[56]

RecordNameSeason
Pointsalign=right 89 Nikita Gusev (Dynamo Mo.)2023-24
Goals align=right 49 Josh Leivo (Ufa)2024-25
Assists align=right 66 Nikita Gusev (Dynamo Mo.)2023-24
Shots on goal align=right 253 Darren Dietz (Barys)2018–19
Plus/minus align=right +48 Vladislav Gavrikov (SKA)2018–19
Penalty minutes align=right 374 Darcy Verot (Vityaz)
Wins align=right 38 Jakub Kovář (Avtomobilist)2018–19
Shutouts align=right 13 Alexei Murygin (Lokomotiv)2015–16

Playoffs

RecordNameSeason
Pointsalign=right 33 Sergei Mozyakin (Magnitogorsk)2013–14
Goals 15 Evgenii Dadonov (SKA)
Danis Zaripov (Magnitogorsk)2016–17
Assists 20 Sergei Mozyakin (Magnitogorsk)2013–14
Chris Lee (Magnitogorsk)2016–17
Shots on goal align=right 82 Evgeny Kuznetsov (Chelyabinsk)2012–13
Plus/minus +16 Dominik Graňák (Dynamo Moscow)2012–13
Chris Lee (Magnitogorsk)2016–17
Penalty minutes align=right 69 Maxim Goncharov (Ufa)2015–16
Wins 16 Alexander Yeryomenko (Dynamo Moscow)2011–12, 2012–13
Vasily Koshechkin (Magnitogorsk)2013–14
Mikko Koskinen (SKA)
Emil Garipov (Kazan)
Ilya Sorokin (CSKA Moscow)
Shutouts align=right 7 Lars Johansson (CSKA Moscow)2020–21

Career records

Regular season

RecordNameYears
Pointsalign=right 756 Sergei Mozyakin (Atlant, Magnitogorsk)2008–2021
Goalsalign=right 351 Sergei Mozyakin (Atlant, Magnitogorsk)2008–2021
Assistsalign=right 506 Vadim Shipachyov (Cherepovets, Saint Petersburg, Dynamo Moscow, Ak Bars Kazan, Dinamo Minsk)2008–2022
Games playedalign=right 745 Yevgeny Biryukov (Ufa, Magnitogorsk)2008–2022
Plus/minusalign=right +201 Vadim Shipachyov (Cherepovets, Saint Petersburg, Dynamo Moscow, Ak Bars Kazan, Dinamo Minsk)2008–2022
Penalty minutesalign=right 1088 Evgeny Artyukhin (Saint Petersburg, Atlant, CSKA Moscow, Novosibirsk, Dynamo Moscow, Vityaz, Admiral, Neftekhimik)2008–2022
Winsalign=right 281 Vasily Koshechkin (Togliatti, Magnitogorsk, Cherepovets)2008–2022
Shutoutsalign=right 73 Vasily Koshechkin (Togliatti, Magnitogorsk, Cherepovets)2008–2022

Playoffs

RecordNameYears
Pointsalign=right 172 Sergei Mozyakin (Atlant, Magnitogorsk)2008–2021
Goals align=right 68 Sergei Mozyakin (Atlant, Magnitogorsk)2008–2021
Assists align=right 104 Sergei Mozyakin (Atlant, Magnitogorsk)2008–2021
Games played align=right 161 Yevgeny Biryukov (Magnitogorsk, Ufa)2008–2021
Plus/minus align=right +52 Danis Zaripov (Kazan, Magnitogorsk)2008–2021
Penalty minutes align=right 312 Grigori Panin (Kazan, CSKA Moscow, Ufa)2008–2021
Wins align=right 71 Vasily Koshechkin (Togliatti, Magnitogorsk, Cherepovets)2008–2021
Shutouts align=right 16 Ilya Sorokin (CSKA Moscow)2015–2020

All-time team records

Since its foundation in 2008, 35 teams have played in the KHL, with 32 having qualified for at least one postseason. Of the 24 founding teams, only Metallurg Novokuznetsk and Khimik Voskresensk had never qualified for the playoffs (both are no longer in the league). The table gives the final regular-season ranks for all teams, with the playoff performance encoded in colors. The teams are ordered by their best championship results.

Team200920102011201220132014201520162017201820192020202120222023202420252026
CSKA Moscow41219186121112111721311     
Ak Bars Kazan284624412748225487
Metallurg Magnitogorsk6354726838613711034
SKA Saint Petersburg8272132102123631213
Dynamo Moscow7563413641810738615
Lokomotiv Yaroslavl37381510255411511341
Avangard Omsk1611153208561276410858
Salavat Yulaev Ufa1128981491510111284763
Traktor Chelyabinsk1218181519151910617219216112
Atlant Moscow Oblast5689171716
Lev Praha155
HC MVD Balashikha184
Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg19202226141814217381218996
Sibir Novosibirsk19201120121377191418101814111815
Jokerit Helsinki5312395106
Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod111517720912119111415141651414
Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk14915171425221620919162015151717
Donbass Donetsk186
Spartak Moscow9101219232321261613916121979
Barys Astana1514141010711171319541117202223
Dinamo Riga1013131524102122282616232322
Dinamo Minsk22171613192691882024241513181610
Severstal Cherepovets17169111118172723172220139141012
Admiral Vladivostok1619131622212223132016
Sochi134141512192121222121
Yugra Khanty-Mansiysk1014162225232527
Vityaz Moscow Oblast2323212322242024112115141720122319
Amur Khabarovsk2021221225282825221323171919171522
Lada Togliatti1322242627251220
Slovan Bratislava13212615172425
Medveščak Zagreb11232024
Kunlun Red Star Beijing182320182224211918
Metallurg Novokuznetsk212423162127272829
Lev Poprad21
Khimik Voskresensk24
- align="center"able" style="font-size: 80%;"Color Result
Red Gagarin Cup Winner
Yellow Runner-up
Green Semifinalist
Light Blue Quarterfinalist
Blue Qualified for playoffs
Purple Nadezhda Cup Winner
Light Gray Not qualified for playoffs
Gray Did not play in the season

Attendance statistics

Total and average attendance by season, including play-offs:

SeasonTotal AttendanceAverage Attendance
3,886,948 6,233
4,223,698 6,264
4,293,271 6,944
4,320,908 6,861
4,775,086 6,912
5,190,133 6,614
6,066,093 7,405
5,875,645 7,065
5,892,889 7,210
5,318,175 7,005
5,644,804 7,544
5,118,949 6,854
1,791,346 2,329
1,842,676 2,771
4,792,508 5,740
5,929,949 6,879
6,543,257 7,530

All-Star Game

See main article: Kontinental Hockey League All-Star Game. The Kontinental Hockey League All-Star Game is an exhibition game held annually at the midway point (usually January or February) of the season, with the league's star players playing against each other. Previously played in a "Russian players versus the rest of the world" format, it is now run in a similar format to the NHL All-Star Game, where the four divisions face off in 3v3 matches.

See also

External links

Official KHL
Third party

Notes and References

  1. Web site: http://www.khl.ru/video/1295/ . ru:Новый игровой ролик КХЛ "Пробка" . khl.ru . 16 August 2010 . ru . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20100809221806/http://www.khl.ru/video/1295/ . 9 August 2010 .
  2. Web site: Хоккей. КХЛ. Регулярный чемпионат 2016/2017 – Факты. Championat.com. 28 June 2017. 4 October 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20181004104052/https://www.championat.com/hockey/_superleague/1770/tournir/info.html. dead.
  3. Web site: Tuniz . David . 24 Mar 2025 . KHL, DEL, National League and SHL set new attendance record in 2024/25 season . live . September 25, 2025 . Euro Hockey.
  4. Web site: Day of Remembrance in honor of Lokomotiv . 7 September 2013 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20140222101424/http://en.khl.ru/news/2013/09/07/25234.html . 22 February 2014 .
  5. Russian professional hockey league mounts challenge to NHL. 11 September 2008. The Hockey News. 14 August 2019.
  6. Web site: NHL Suspends Dealings With KHL As Russia's Ukraine Invasion Impacts Hockey World. Carol. Schram. Forbes.
  7. Web site: Lev from Slovakia to Prague . IIHF.com . 30 March 2012 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20130824052336/http://www.iihf.com/en/home-of-hockey/news/news-singleview/recap/6557.html . 24 August 2013 .
  8. Web site: Medveščak to join the league from 2013–14 season. khl.ru. 29 April 2013.
  9. Web site: Welcome, Jokerit and Sochi; welcome back, Lada . 30 April 2014. 3 May 2014.
  10. Web site: Donbass to miss 2014–15 season. 19 June 2014. 19 June 2014.
  11. Web site: Naděje vyhasla. Lev Praha definitivně končí v KHL. 1 July 2014. 1 July 2014.
  12. News: У министра конструктивная позиция по легионерам . 22 April 2014 . 10 May 2014 .
  13. Web site: League confirms format for 2015–16 season. en.khl.ru.
  14. Web site: It's Official! Kunlun Red Star joins the KHL. KHL. 25 June 2016. en.KHL.ru. 26 June 2016.
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