2009–10 KHL season

The 2009–10 KHL season was the second season of the Kontinental Hockey League. It was held from 10 September 2009 to 27 April 2010, with a break for the Olympic winter games from 8 February to 3 March.[1] Ak Bars Kazan defended their title by defeating Western conference winners HC MVD in a seven-game play-off final.

2009–10 KHL season
LeagueKontinental Hockey League
SportIce hockey
Duration10 September 2009 – 27 April 2010
Number of teams24
Regular season
Continental Cup winner Salavat Yulaev Ufa
Top scorer Sergei Mozyakin
Atlant Moscow Oblast
Playoffs
Western champions HC MVD
  Western runners-up Lokomotiv Yaroslavl
Eastern champions Ak Bars Kazan
  Eastern runners-up Salavat Yulaev Ufa
Gagarin Cup
Champions Ak Bars Kazan
  Runners-up HC MVD
Finals MVP Ilya Nikulin

League changes

On 16 June 2009, the KHL Board of Directors approved several changes to the league for the 2009–10 season.[2]

Team changes

The league admitted a new team, Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg. Khimik Voskresensk did not play in the 2009–10 season due to financial problems, but they retained KHL membership and may return at a later date, meanwhile playing in the Russian Major League. Overall, the number of teams playing in 2009–10 remained at 24.

Division realignment

Teams were geographically aligned to aid travel conditions. The league were divided into a Western and an Eastern conference, each containing two divisions of six teams. Each team played the other teams in the same division 4 times (for a total of 20 games) and each team in the other divisions 2 times (for a total of 36 games). The regular season thus consisted of 56 games for every team.

Play-off structure

The top eight teams from each conference qualified for the play-offs. Division winners were awarded the top two seeds. In each conference quarterfinals, semifinals and finals will be played and the conference winners play for the Gagarin Cup. Conference quarterfinals were best-of-five series, the remaining rounds best-of-seven series. Overtime periods last 20 minutes or until the sudden death goal.

Salary cap

The aggregate income of all players of a team was limited to 620 million rubles (~$20 million USD). Minimum aggregate salary for the players was 200 million rubles (~$6.5 million USD). Each teams was allowed one "franchise player" exception, who did not count towards the cap.

Rosters

25 players are allowed to be in the major team roster and 25 in the junior team roster of every club. The number of foreign players is restricted to 5, at most one of them as goaltender.

Junior league

The league implemented a more advanced and organized junior hockey sub-league to focus on development. It features players from 17 to 21 years of age.

Entry draft

On 1 June 2009, the inaugural entry draft for the KHL was held. Each team's hockey school was able to protect 25 players from the 17-21 agegroup prior to the draft.

Goal crease

Goal crease was shrunk to the NHL dimensions.[3]

Regular season

The regular season started on 10 September 2009 with the "Opening Cup" and ended on 7 March 2010. A few small breaks for the national team and the All-Star game as well as a large break for the Olympic winter games from 8 February to 3 March were scheduled.[1] Each team played a total of 56 games (4 times against the division opponents and 2 times against all other teams). The winner of the regular season was awarded the Continental Cup.[2]

Notable events

Opening Cup

The first game of each KHL season is the "Opening Cup" played between the two finalists of the last season. In 2009, the game was played at the TatNeft Arena in Kazan and won by last year's champion Ak Bars Kazan, beating runner-up Lokomotiv Yaroslavl 3–2 in overtime. The two teams were wearing special uniforms with an Opening Cup logo.[4]

Fetisov comeback

On 11 December 2009, Russian hockey legend Viacheslav Fetisov gave a one-game comeback in professional hockey at the age of 51. In this game for CSKA Moscow he played for 8 minutes without a shot on the goal, but it created a very large media interest, not only for himself but also for CSKA Moscow and the KHL.[5]

Mass brawl in Chekhov

On 9 January 2010, in the game between Vityaz Chekhov and Avangard Omsk, a bench-clearing brawl broke out in the 4th minute of the first period, and a bench- and penalty-box-clearing brawl broke out 39 seconds later, forcing the officials to abandon the game, since only four players were left to play. Thirty-three players and both teams' coaches were ejected, and a world record total of 707 penalty minutes were incurred.[6] The KHL imposed fines totaling 5.7 million rubles ($191,000), suspended seven players, and counted the game as a 5–0 defeat for both teams, with no points being awarded.[7]

All-Star Game

The 2nd KHL All-star game was played on 30 January 2010 in the new Minsk-Arena in Minsk, Belarus. As in the previous year, Team Jágr won against Team Yashin, this time with a score of 11–8.[8]

Continental Cup

The first Continental Cup in the KHL history was won by Salavat Yulaev Ufa on 5 March 2010, after the club became unreachable by other clubs in the KHL standings one game before the end of the regular season, and extended their regular-season winning streak to three.[9]

League standings

Source: khl.ru[10]

Points are 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

Conference standings

The conference standings will determine the seedings for the play-offs. The first two places in each conference are reserved for the division leaders.

Western Conference GP W OTW SOW SOL OTL L GF GA Pts
SKA Saint Petersburg 5636133310192118122
HC MVD 5630106415160135102
Dynamo Moscow 5628234316166151101
Atlant Moscow Oblast 5624491216173137101
Lokomotiv Yaroslavl 562632441716313296
Spartak Moscow 562444402017816892
CSKA Moscow 562235412114813587
Dinamo Riga 562313432217417584
Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod 562211142715416375
Severstal Cherepovets 561627622315116274
Dinamo Minsk 561715203113916465
Vityaz Chekhov 5613322333114212161541
Eastern Conference GP W OTW SOW SOL OTL L GF GA Pts
Salavat Yulaev Ufa 563743318215116129
Metallurg Magnitogorsk 5634241015167111115
Ak Bars Kazan 562544321815912896
Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk 562731402117616693
Avangard Omsk 5624226418115211281901
Barys Astana 562051612316917379
Traktor Chelyabinsk 561803223113719264
Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg 561426242812715964
Sibir Novosibirsk 561525313014719063
Amur Khabarovsk 561236422912918760
Lada Togliatti 561402633111517355
Metallurg Novokuznetsk 561312253310515952

1 The KHL decided that as a result of the game between Vityaz Chekhov and Avangard Omsk on 9 January 2010 being abandoned due to a mass brawl which left neither team having the required number of players to continue, the game would count as a 5-0 defeat for both teams with no points being awarded.[7]

Divisional standings

Western Conference

Bobrov Division GP W OTW SOW SOL OTL L GF GA Pts
SKA Saint Petersburg 5636133310192118122
Dynamo Moscow 5628234316166151101
HC Spartak Moscow 562444402017816892
CSKA Moscow 562235412114813587
Dinamo Riga 562313432217417584
Dinamo Minsk 561715203113916465
Tarasov Division GP W OTW SOW SOL OTL L GF GA Pts
HC MVD 5630106415160135102
Atlant Moscow Oblast 5624491216173137101
Lokomotiv Yaroslavl 562632441716313296
Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod 562211142715416375
Severstal Cherepovets 561627622315116274
Vityaz Chekhov 561332233314221654

Eastern Conference

Kharlamov Division GP W OTW SOW SOL OTL L GF GA Pts
Metallurg Magnitogorsk 5634241015167111115
Ak Bars Kazan 562544321815912896
Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk 562731402117616693
Traktor Chelyabinsk 561803223113719264
Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg 561426242812715964
Lada Togliatti 561402633111517355
Chernyshev Division GP W OTW SOW SOL OTL L GF GA Pts
Salavat Yulaev Ufa 563743318215116129
Avangard Omsk 562422641815212890
Barys Astana 562051612316917379
Sibir Novosibirsk 561525313014719063
Amur Khabarovsk 561236422912918760
Metallurg Novokuznetsk 561312253310515952

League leaders

Source: khl.ru[11][12]

Goals Marcel Hossa (Riga)35
Assists Alexei Yashin (SKA) 46
Points Sergei Mozyakin (Atlant)
66
Shots Marcel Hossa (Riga)216
Plus/minus Patrick Thoresen (Ufa)+45
Penalty minutes Darcy Verot (Chekhov)374
Wins (Goaltenders) Robert Esche (SKA)29
Goals against average Petri Vehanen (Kazan)1.73
Save percentage Petri Vehanen (Kazan)93.5
Shutouts Vasily Koshechkin (Magnitogorsk)8

Goaltenders: minimum 20 games played

Scoring leaders

Source: khl.ru[13]

GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/– = Plus-minus; PIM = Penalty minutes

Player Team GP G A Pts +/– PIM
Sergei MozyakinAtlant Moscow Oblast 56273966+2444
Maxim SushinskiSKA Saint Petersburg 56273865+2887
Alexei YashinSKA Saint Petersburg 56184664+2138
Alexander RadulovSalavat Yulaev Ufa 54243963+4462
Mattias WeinhandlDynamo Moscow 56263460+1036
Patrick ThoresenSalavat Yulaev Ufa 56243357+4571
Marcel HossaDinamo Riga 56351954–344
Jiří HudlerDynamo Moscow 54193554+7115
Branko RadivojevičSpartak Moscow 56183654–418
Sergei ZinovjevSalavat Yulaev Ufa 47173653+2483

Leading goaltenders

Source: khl.ru[14]

GP = Games played; Min = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; SOL = Shootout losses; GA = Goals against; SO = Shutouts; SV% = Save percentage; GAA = Goals against average

Player Team GP Min W L SOL GA SO SV% GAA
Petri VehanenAk Bars Kazan251528:581555443.9351.73
Alexander YeremenkoSalavat Yulaev Ufa321769:552450522.9311.76
Ilya ProskuryakovMetallurg Magnitogorsk321809:311984584.9271.92
Vasily KoshechkinMetallurg Magnitogorsk492840:4325168938.9331.96
Michael GarnettHC MVD442561:5424154885.9172.06

Playoffs
The Gagarin Cup

The eight best teams of each conference qualified for the playoffs. The first three rounds are played within the conferences, then the two winners will play in the Gagarin Cup final. The playoffs started on 10 March 2010 and ended on 27 April with the seventh game of the Gagarin Cup final.[1] Remarkably, each of all the fifteen play-off series was won by the team which won the first game in the series.

  Conference Quarter-Finals
(best-of-5)		 Conference Semi-Finals
(best-of-7)		 Conference Finals
(best-of-7)		 Gagarin Cup Finals
(best-of-7)
                                     
1 Salavat Yulaev 3     1 Salavat Yulaev 4  
8 Avtomobilist 1     4 Neftekhimik 2  
2 Metallurg Mg 3 Eastern Conference
7 Traktor 1  
    1 Salavat Yulaev 2  
  3 Ak Bars 4  
3 Ak Bars 3  
6 Barys 0  
4 Neftekhimik 3   2 Metallurg Mg 2
5 Avangard 0     3 Ak Bars 4  
  E Ak Bars 4
(Pairings are re-seeded after the first round.)
  W HC MVD 3
1 SKA 1     2 HC MVD 4
8 Dinamo Riga 3     8 Dinamo Riga 1  
2 HC MVD 3
7 CSKA 0  
  2 HC MVD 4
  5 Lokomotiv 3  
3 Dynamo Moscow 1  
6 Spartak 3   Western Conference
4 Atlant 1   5 Lokomotiv 4
5 Lokomotiv 3     6 Spartak 2  
  • During the first three rounds home ice is determined by seeding number, not position on the bracket. In the Finals the team with the better regular season record has home ice.

Playoff leaders

Source: khl.ru[15][16]

Goals Alexei Ugarov (Balashikha)9
Assists Alexander Radulov (Ufa)
Alexei Tsvetkov (Balashikha)
11
Points Alexander Radulov (Ufa)
19
Shots Martin Štrbák (Balashikha) 63
Plus/minus Josef Vašíček (Yarsolavl)
+15
Penalty minutes Dmitri Kalinin (Ufa)58
Wins (Goaltenders) Petri Vehanen (Kazan)
15
Goals against average Ivan Kasutin (Nizhnekamsk)
1.36
Save percentage Ivan Kasutin (Nizhnekamsk)
95.5
Shutouts Ivan Kasutin (Nizhnekamsk)
Petri Vehanen (Kazan)
Dimitri Kotschnew (Moscow)
2

Goaltenders: minimum 5 games played

Scoring leaders

Source: khl.ru[17]

GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/– = Plus-minus; PIM = Penalty minutes

Player Team GP G A Pts +/– PIM
Alexander RadulovSalavat Yulaev Ufa 1681119+710
Niko KapanenAk Bars Kazan 228917+36
Alexei TsvetkovHC MVD 2251116+614
Alexander GalimovLokomotiv Yaroslavl 168614+433
Patrick ThoresenSalavat Yulaev Ufa 155914+337

Leading goaltenders

Source: khl.ru[18]

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
Ivan KasutinNeftekhimik Nizhnekamsk9528:5854122.9541.36
Petri VehanenAk Bars Kazan221388:40157372.9371.60
Alexander EremenkoSalavat Yulaev Ufa12725:3484521.9341.65
Georgi GelashviliLokomotiv Yaroslavl171050:13106331.9331.89
Edgars MasaļskisDinamo Riga6373:3032121.9341.93

Final standings
RankTeam
1 Ak Bars Kazan
2 HC MVD
3 Salavat Yulaev Ufa
4 Lokomotiv Yaroslavl
5 Metallurg Magnitogorsk
6 Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk
7 Spartak Moscow
8 Dinamo Riga
9 SKA Saint Petersburg
10 Dynamo Moscow
11 Atlant Mytishchi
12 Avangard Omsk
13 CSKA Moscow
14 Barys Astana
15 Traktor Chelyabinsk
16 Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg
17 Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod
18 Severstal Cherepovets
19 Dinamo Minsk
20 Sibir Novosibirsk
21 Amur Khabarovsk
22 Lada Togliatti
23 Vityaz Chekhov
24 Metallurg Novokuznetsk

Awards

Players of the Month

Best KHL players of each month.

Month Goaltender Defense Forward Rookie
September[19] Ilya Proskuryakov (Magnitogorsk) Konstantin Korneyev (CSKA) Kirill Knyazev (Spartak) Sergei Belokon (Vityaz)
October[20] Karri Rämö (Omsk) Dmitri Kalinin (Ufa) Mattias Weinhandl (Dynamo M) Linus Omark (Dynamo M)
November[21] Georgi Gelashvili (Yaroslavl) Sergei Zubov (SKA) Maxim Sushinsky (SKA) Nikita Filatov (CSKA)
December[22] Vitaliy Yeremeyev (Dynamo M) Dmitri Bykov (Atlant) Sergei Mozyakin (Atlant) Nikolai Belov (Neftekhimik)
January[23] Robert Esche (SKA) Sergei Zubov (SKA) Geoff Platt (Minsk) Alexander Komaristy (Chekhov)
February Olympic break
March[24] Ivan Kasutin (Neftekhimik) Alexander Guskov (Yaroslavl) Alexander Radulov (Ufa) Konstantin Plaksin (Traktor)
April[25] Petri Vehanen (Kazan) Ilya Nikulin (Kazan) Alexei Tsvetkov (HC MVD) not awarded

KHL Awards

On 25 May 2010, the KHL held their annual award ceremony. A total of 20 different awards were handed out to teams, players, officials and media.[26] The most important trophies are listed in the table below.

Golden Stick Award (regular season MVP) Alexander Radulov (Ufa)
Play-off Master Award (play-off MVP) Ilya Nikulin (Kazan)
Alexei Cherepanov Award (best rookie) Anatoli Nikontsev (Yekaterinburg)

The league also awarded six "Golden Helmets" for the members of the all-star team:

Forwards Alexander Radulov
Salavat Yulaev Ufa		 Marcel Hossa
Dinamo Riga		 Sergei Mozyakin
Atlant Moscow Oblast
Defense Sergei Zubov
SKA St. Petersburg		 Dmitri Kalinin
Salavat Yulaev Ufa
Goalie Michael Garnett
HC MVD

References
  1. "KHL President Approves The Rules And The Calendar Of KHL Championship in 2009/2010 Season". KHL.ru. 1 July 2009. Retrieved 1 December 2009.
  2. "KHL Board Of Directors Approved Championship Structure". KHL.ru. 16 June 2009. Retrieved 1 December 2009.
  3. "Goal crease diagram". Archived from the original on 21 July 2011. Retrieved 19 June 2009.
  4. "Eight Days Left Before The Opening Cup Game". KHL.ru. 2 September 2009. Retrieved 1 December 2009.
  5. "Fetisov's Day". KHL.ru. 11 December 2009. Retrieved 26 January 2010.
  6. "This is hockey?". KHL.ru. 9 January 2010. Archived from the original on 14 January 2010. Retrieved 1 February 2010.
  7. "Both teams lose". KHL.ru. 10 January 2010. Archived from the original on 14 January 2010. Retrieved 1 February 2010.
  8. "No revenge for Yashin". KHL.ru. 30 January 2010. Retrieved 1 February 2010.
  9. "Ufa's first trophy". khl.ru. Archived from the original on 11 March 2010. Retrieved 5 March 2010.
  10. "KHL Regular season standings". KHL.ru. Archived from the original on 6 February 2010. Retrieved 1 February 2010.
  11. "KHL Regular Season Statistics: Skaters". KHL.ru. Archived from the original on 15 March 2010. Retrieved 1 December 2009.
  12. "KHL Regular Season Statistics: Goalies". KHL.ru. Archived from the original on 24 July 2011. Retrieved 1 December 2009.
  13. "Player Stats: 2009–2010 Regular Season: All Skater – Total Points". Kontinental Hockey League. Retrieved 27 February 2011.
  14. "Player Stats: 2009–2010 Regular Season: Goalie – Goals Against Average". Kontinental Hockey League. Retrieved 27 February 2011.
  15. "KHL Playoff Statistics: Skaters". KHL.ru. Retrieved 27 February 2011.
  16. "KHL Playoff Statistics: Goalies". KHL.ru. Retrieved 27 February 2011.
  17. "Player Stats: 2009–2010 Playoffs: All Skaters – Total Points". Kontinental Hockey League. Retrieved 27 February 2011.
  18. "Player Stats: 2009–2010 Playoff: Goalie – Goals Against Average". Kontinental Hockey League. Retrieved 27 February 2011.
  19. "September's stars". KHL.ru. 7 October 2009. Archived from the original on 20 October 2009. Retrieved 1 December 2009.
  20. "October's finest". KHL.ru. 2 November 2009. Retrieved 1 December 2009.
  21. "November's finest". KHL.ru. 2 December 2009. Retrieved 3 December 2009.
  22. "December's finest". KHL.ru. 1 January 2010. Retrieved 4 January 2010.
  23. "January's finest". KHL.ru. 1 January 2010. Archived from the original on 13 February 2010. Retrieved 3 February 2010.
  24. "Finest in March". KHL.ru. 1 April 2010. Archived from the original on 20 April 2010. Retrieved 1 April 2010.
  25. "April's Finest". KHL.ru. 29 April 2010. Archived from the original on 1 May 2010. Retrieved 29 April 2010.
  26. Все золото Лиги (in Russian). KHL.ru. 26 May 2010. Archived from the original on 27 May 2010. Retrieved 26 May 2010.
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