2019–20 KHL season

The 2019–20 KHL season was the twelfth season of the Kontinental Hockey League. There were 24 teams that competed in 62 regular season games.[1] The season began with the Opening Cup on 1 September 2019, and the regular championship ran until 27 February 2020. The playoffs were scheduled to take place from 1 March through until 30 April.[2] The All-Star Weekend took place over 18–19 January 2020.

2019–20 KHL season
LeagueKontinental Hockey League
SportIce hockey
Duration1 September 2019 – 12 March 2020
Number of games62
Number of teams24
Regular season
Continental Cup winnerCSKA Moscow
Top scorer

Due to the 2020 coronavirus pandemic in Europe, the season was prematurely ended on 25 March 2020, midway through the playoffs.[3][4]

Season changes

For the 2019–20 season, the KHL originally announced that all 25 teams from the 2018–19 would return and continue without any changes to Divisions realignments.[2] However the competition was reduced to 24 teams after Slovak based, HC Slovan Bratislava, announced that they would be withdrawing from the KHL to return to the Slovak Extraliga due to financial restrictions on 27 May 2019.[5] With Slovan Bratislava's exit, Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod were moved from the Eastern Conference,[1] to the Western Conference, reversing the move of the previous season.[6] As a result, both Conferences consisted of 12 teams.

KHL World Games

The KHL announced the World Games project would continue for a second consecutive season with more information to be announced in July 2019.[2] With the release of the season's schedule, new destinations of Davos, Shenzhen and Almaty were scheduled to host games.[1]

Smart pucks

Smart puck technology, backed up with chips in players' jerseys, was used in all KHL games in the coming season. The new technology was trialled in the All-Star Game in Kazan last season and was also used in regular season games in Helsinki. Every arena in the league installed sensors capable of collecting information from the chips 100 times a second. That information was available to various users and coaches in real time, giving-up-to-the-second details of the players’ speed, the distance covered in each shift, the speed and location of each shot and much more.[7]

The KHL is the first league in the world to implement this technology across the board.[7]

Teams

The 24 teams were split into four divisions: the Bobrov Division and the Tarasov Division as part of the Western Conference, with the Kharlamov Division and the Chernyshev Division as part of the Eastern Conference.[8]

Western Conference Eastern Conference
Bobrov Division Tarasov Division Kharlamov Division Chernyshev Division
Dinamo Riga CSKA Moscow Ak Bars Kazan Admiral Vladivostok
Dynamo Moscow Dinamo Minsk Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg Amur Khabarovsk
Jokerit HC Sochi Metallurg Magnitogorsk Avangard Omsk
Severstal Cherepovets Lokomotiv Yaroslavl Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk Barys Nur-Sultan
SKA Saint Petersburg Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod Sibir Novosibirsk Kunlun Red Star
Spartak Moscow Vityaz Podolsk Traktor Chelyabinsk Salavat Yulaev Ufa

League standings

Each team played 62 games, playing their divisional opponents four times, non-divisional conference rivals three times, and non-conference opponents twice.

Points were awarded for each game, where two points were awarded for all victories, regardless of whether it was in regulation time, in overtime or after game-winning shots. One point was awarded for losing in overtime or game-winning shots, and zero points for losing in regulation time. At the end of the regular season, the team that finished with the most points was crowned the Continental Cup winner.

Western Conference
Pos Team Pld W OTW OTL L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 CSKA Moscow (Q, Z) 62 40 5 4 13 202 99 +103 94 Advance to Gagarin Cup Playoffs[lower-alpha 1]
2 SKA Saint Petersburg (Q, X) 62 30 14 5 13 179 118 +61 93
3 Jokerit (Q) 62 28 10 8 16 184 164 +20 84 Advance to Gagarin Cup Playoffs
4 Dynamo Moscow (Q) 62 29 8 8 17 182 144 +38 82
5 Spartak Moscow (Q) 62 26 8 9 19 173 143 +30 77
6 Lokomotiv Yaroslavl (Q) 62 25 9 5 23 170 151 +19 73
7 Vityaz Podolsk (Q) 62 19 8 11 24 137 166 −29 65
8 Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod (Q) 62 22 7 6 27 165 167 −2 64
9 HC Sochi (E) 62 15 10 9 28 124 164 −40 59
10 Severstal Cherepovets (E) 62 14 10 10 28 126 171 −45 58
11 Dinamo Riga (E) 62 11 6 7 38 103 187 −84 41
12 Dinamo Minsk (E) 62 11 3 11 37 135 232 −97 39
Source: KHL
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) games won in regulation time; 3) games won in overtime; 4) games won in shootouts; 5) goal difference; 6) number of goals scored; 7) drawing of lots.
(E) Eliminated; (Q) Qualified to the phase indicated; (X) Won division; (Z) Won Continental Cup.
Notes:
  1. Teams leading a division hold one of the first two places of their conference.

Eastern Conference
Pos Team Pld W OTW OTL L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Ak Bars Kazan (Q, Y) 62 38 6 5 13 178 121 +57 93 Advance to Gagarin Cup Playoffs[lower-alpha 1]
2 Barys Nur-Sultan (Q, X) 62 31 7 8 16 156 137 +19 84
3 Avangard Omsk (Q) 62 30 7 9 16 163 120 +43 83 Advance to Gagarin Cup Playoffs
4 Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg (Q) 62 24 11 8 19 168 151 +17 78
5 Sibir Novosibirsk (Q) 62 27 7 6 22 139 143 −4 74
6 Salavat Yulaev Ufa (Q) 62 23 6 10 23 153 144 +9 68
7 Metallurg Magnitogorsk (Q) 62 20 8 9 25 138 145 −7 65
8 Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk (Q) 62 21 7 8 26 162 158 +4 64
9 Amur Khabarovsk (E) 62 20 6 10 26 132 145 −13 62
10 Kunlun Red Star (E) 62 20 6 8 28 139 158 −19 60
11 Traktor Chelyabinsk (E) 62 20 5 6 31 132 161 −29 56
12 Admiral Vladivostok (E) 62 16 10 4 32 126 177 −51 56
Source: KHL
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) games won in regulation time; 3) games won in overtime; 4) games won in shootouts; 5) goal difference; 6) number of goals scored; 7) drawing of lots.
(E) Eliminated; (Q) Qualified to the phase indicated; (X) Won division; (Y) Won conference.
Notes:
  1. Teams leading a division hold one of the first two places of their conference.

Gagarin Cup playoffs
Main article: 2020 Gagarin Cup playoffs

Ak Bars Kazan were the Eastern Conference regular season winners with 93 points. It was determined following a 5–3 victory over closest challengers Avangard Omsk at TatNeft Arena.[9] CSKA Moscow were the Western Conference regular season winners, and winners of the Continental Cup with 94 points. It was determined following a 6–0 victory over HC Sochi at CSKA Arena.[10]

The 2020 Gagarin Cup playoffs started on 1 March 2020, and were scheduled to finish no later than 25 April 2020.[11] The top eight teams from each of the twelve-team conferences qualified for the playoffs.

On 25 March 2020, the remaining scheduled games were cancelled.[12] The below bracket shows the position of the playoffs at the time of cancellation.

  Conference Quarter-Finals Conference Semi-Finals Conference Finals Gagarin Cup Finals
                                     
1 Ak Bars 4     1 Ak Bars  
8 Neftekhimik 0     6 Salavat Yulaev  
2 Barys 4 Eastern Conference
7 Metallurg 1  
     
  5 Sibir  
3 Avangard 2  
6 Salavat Yulaev 4  
4 Avtomobilist 1   2 Barys[lower-alpha 1]
5 Sibir 4     5 Sibir w/o  
  E
(Pairings are re-seeded after the first round.)
  W
1 CSKA 4     1 CSKA
8 Torpedo 0     4 Dynamo  
2 SKA 4
7 Vityaz 0  
 
  2 SKA  
3 Jokerit 4  
6 Lokomotiv 2   Western Conference
4 Dynamo 4   2 SKA w/o
5 Spartak 2     3 Jokerit[lower-alpha 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.
  1. On 16 March 2020, Barys voluntarily withdrew from the playoffs due to the COVID-19 pandemic].[13]
  2. On 14 March 2020, Jokerit voluntarily withdrew from the playoffs due to the COVID-19 pandemic].[14]

Final standings

Following the announcement that the season was prematurely ended on 25 March 2020, a decision of the final league standings was announced to be made at a later date.[3] On 7 May 2020, it was announced that the eight teams that had qualified for the second round of the playoffs would be ranked ex aequo.[15]

Rank Team
1–8 Ak Bars Kazan
Barys Nur-Sultan
CSKA Moscow
Dynamo Moscow
Jokerit
Salavat Yulaev Ufa
Sibir Novosibirsk
SKA Saint Petersburg
9 Avangard Omsk
10 Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg
11 Spartak Moscow
12 Lokomotiv Yaroslavl
13 Metallurg Magnitogorsk
14 Vityaz Podolsk
15 Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod
16 Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk
17 Amur Khabarovsk
18 Kunlun Red Star
19 HC Sochi
20 Severstal Cherepovets
21 Traktor Chelyabinsk
22 Admiral Vladivostok
23 Dinamo Riga
24 Dinamo Minsk

Statistics

Scoring leaders

The following players led the league in points, at the conclusion of the regular season.[16] If two or more skaters are tied (i.e. same number of points, goals and played games), all of the tied skaters are shown.

Player Team GP G A Pts +/– PIM
Vadim Shipachyov Dynamo Moscow 61 17 48 65 +34 28
Dmitrij Jaškin Dynamo Moscow 58 31 32 63 +34 75
Kirill Kaprizov CSKA Moscow 57 33 29 62 +32 10
Linus Omark Salavat Yulaev Ufa 59 12 42 54 –1 36
Nigel Dawes Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg 59 20 30 50 –5 13
Mikko Lehtonen Jokerit 60 17 32 49 +26 20
Nikita Soshnikov Salavat Yulaev Ufa 58 27 21 48 –2 28
Brian O'Neill Jokerit 56 19 29 48 +17 18
Linden Vey CSKA Moscow 52 13 35 48 +22 47
Brooks Macek Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg 61 24 22 46 -3 22

Leading goaltenders

The following goaltenders led the league in goals against average, at the conclusion of the regular season.[17]

Player Team(s) GP TOI W L GA SO SV% GAA
Lars Johansson CSKA Moscow 23 1370:30 17 6 32 6 93.25% 1.40
Timur Bilyalov Ak Bars Kazan 32 1652:14 19 4 40 8 94.34% 1.45
Ilya Sorokin CSKA Moscow 40 2364:49 26 10 59 9 93.50% 1.50
Alexander Samonov
25 1428:32 19 1 36 4 94.66% 1.51
Magnus Hellberg SKA Saint Petersburg 26 1443:15 14 7 41 3 92.65% 1.70
Igor Bobkov Avangard Omsk 48 2815:51 25 16 81 5 93.24% 1.73
Vasily Koshechkin Metallurg Magnitogorsk 49 2687:12 18 20 87 6 93.31% 1.94
Ivan Bocharov Dynamo Moscow 49 2638:43 26 13 87 6 93.47% 1.98
Alexei Krasikov Sibir Novosibirsk 30 1403:56 10 11 47 2 93.52% 2.01
Evgeny Alikin Amur Khabarovsk 40 2246:36 15 13 76 7 93.65% 2.03

Awards

Players of the Month

Best KHL players of each month.

Month Goaltender Defence Forward Rookie
September[18] Alexei Melnichuk (SKA Saint Petersburg) Mikael Wikstrand (Ak Bars Kazan) Damir Zhafyarov (Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod) Danila Zhuravlyov (Ak Bars Kazan)
October[19] Harri Säteri (Sibir Novosibirsk) Albert Yarullin (Ak Bars Kazan) Vadim Shipachyov (Dynamo Moscow) Artyom Galimov (Ak Bars Kazan)
November[20] Timur Bilyalov (Ak Bars Kazan) Mikko Lehtonen (Jokerit) Dmitrij Jaškin (Dynamo Moscow) Kirill Marchenko (SKA Saint Petersburg)
December[21] Jakub Kovář (Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg) Mikko Lehtonen (Jokerit) Roman Starchenko (Barys Nur-Sultan) Akim Trishin (Spartak Moscow)
January[22] Ilya Sorokin (CSKA Moscow) Mikko Lehtonen (Jokerit) Anton Slepyshev (CSKA Moscow) Ivan Morozov (CSKA Moscow)
February[23] Ivan Fedotov (Traktor Chelyabinsk) Vasili Tokranov (SKA Saint Petersburg) Kirill Kaprizov (CSKA Moscow) Dmitri Voronkov (Ak Bars Kazan)
March Not awarded
April

References
  1. Potts, Andy (11 July 2019). "Season 12 Schedule: back to Europe, more derbies and a visit to Shenzhen". KHL.ru. Kontinental Hockey League. Retrieved 1 September 2019.
  2. "The KHL board approves structure for 2019-20 season" (in Russian). Kontinental Hockey League. 27 March 2019. Retrieved 27 March 2019.
  3. "KHL has cancelled the remainder of the 2019-20 season". KHL.ru. Kontinental Hockey League. 25 March 2020. Retrieved 25 March 2020.
  4. "Europe's biggest ice hockey league KHL prematurely ends season due to coronavirus pandemic". RT. ANO "TV-Novosti". 25 March 2020. Retrieved 25 March 2020.
  5. "Slovan has not entered into an agreement with KHL" (in Slovak). HC Slovan Bratislava. 27 May 2019. Retrieved 27 May 2019.
  6. "2018/2019 season calendar: start in September and comfortable playoffs". KHL.ru. Kontinental Hockey League. 5 July 2018. Retrieved 4 October 2018.
  7. "Dmitry Chernyshenko reviews the season with KHL club directors" (in Russian). Kontinental Hockey League. 28 May 2019. Retrieved 28 May 2019.
  8. "League confirms structure for the new season" (in Russian). Kontinental Hockey League. 7 May 2019. Retrieved 7 May 2019.
  9. Potts, Andy (18 February 2020). "Ak Bars tops the East. February 18 round-up". KHL.ru. Kontinental Hockey League. Retrieved 18 February 2020.
  10. Potts, Andy (27 February 2020). "CSKA tops the regular season table. February 27 round-up". KHL.ru. Kontinental Hockey League. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
  11. Seren Rosso, Alessandro (30 January 2020). "League unveils 2019-20 playoffs logos". KHL.ru. Kontinental Hockey League. Retrieved 25 February 2020. The postseason starts on March 1st, and the potential 7th game of the Gagarin Cup finals is scheduled for April 25th.
  12. "KHL has cancelled the remainder of the 2019-20 season". KHL.ru. Kontinental Hockey League. 25 March 2020. Retrieved 25 March 2020.
  13. "KHL working on new playoff format after two teams drop out". Sportsnet. Rogers Media. Associated Press. 16 March 2020. Retrieved 16 March 2020.
  14. Clinton, Jared (14 March 2020). "KHL's Jokerit voluntarily withdraws from Gagarin Cup playoffs ahead of second-round series". The Hockey News. Roustan Media Ltd. Retrieved 15 March 2020.
  15. "KHL announces the final team placements for the 2019-20 season". KHL.ru. Kontinental Hockey League. 7 May 2020. Retrieved 7 May 2020.
  16. "Leaders: Points (G+A)". KHL.ru. Kontinental Hockey League. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
  17. "Leaders: Goaltenders (GAA)". KHL.ru. Kontinental Hockey League. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
  18. Seren Rosso, Alexander (1 October 2019). "Players of the Month: Melnichuk, Wikstrand, Zhafyarov, and Zhuravlyov". KHL.ru. Kontinental Hockey League. Retrieved 10 January 2020.
  19. Seren Rosso, Alexander (1 November 2019). "Players of the Month: Sateri, Yarullin, Shipachyov, and Galimov". KHL.ru. Kontinental Hockey League. Retrieved 10 January 2020.
  20. Seren Rosso, Alexander (3 December 2019). "Players of the Month: Bilyalov, Lehtonen, Jaskin, and Marchenko". KHL.ru. Kontinental Hockey League. Retrieved 10 January 2020.
  21. Seren Rosso, Alexander (31 December 2019). "Players of the Month: Kovar, Lehtonen, Starchenko, and Trishin". KHL.ru. Kontinental Hockey League. Retrieved 10 January 2020.
  22. Seren Rosso, Alexander (1 February 2020). "Players of the Month: Sorokin, Lehtonen, Slepyshev, and Morozov". KHL.ru. Kontinental Hockey League. Retrieved 1 February 2020.
  23. Seren Rosso, Alexander (29 February 2020). "Players of the Month: Fedotov, Tokranov, Kaprizov, and Voronkov". KHL.ru. Kontinental Hockey League. Retrieved 1 March 2020.
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