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 winnerRussia Salavat Yulaev Ufa
Top scorerRussia Sergei Mozyakin
Atlant Moscow Oblast
Playoffs
Western championsRussia HC MVD
  Western runners-upRussia Lokomotiv Yaroslavl
Eastern championsRussia Ak Bars Kazan
  Eastern runners-upRussia Salavat Yulaev Ufa
Gagarin Cup
ChampionsRussia Ak Bars Kazan
  Runners-upRussia HC MVD
Finals MVPRussia Ilya Nikulin
KHL seasons

League changes edit

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 (~US$20 million). Minimum aggregate salary for the players was 200 million rubles (~US$6.5 million). 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 edit

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 edit

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 edit

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 edit

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

RankWestern ConferenceGPWOTWSOWSOLOTLLGFGAPts
1 SKA Saint Petersburg5636133310192118122
2 HC MVD5630106415160135102
3 Dynamo Moscow5628234316166151101
4 Atlant Moscow Oblast5624491216173137101
5 Lokomotiv Yaroslavl562632441716313296
6 Spartak Moscow562444402017816892
7 CSKA Moscow562235412114813587
8 Dinamo Riga562313432217417584
9 Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod562211142715416375
10 Severstal Cherepovets561627622315116274
11 Dinamo Minsk561715203113916465
12 Vityaz Chekhov5613322333114212161541
RankEastern ConferenceGPWOTWSOWSOLOTLLGFGAPts
1 Salavat Yulaev Ufa563743318215116129
2 Metallurg Magnitogorsk5634241015167111115
3 Ak Bars Kazan562544321815912896
4 Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk562731402117616693
5 Avangard Omsk5624226418115211281901
6 Barys Astana562051612316917379
7 Traktor Chelyabinsk561803223113719264
8 Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg561426242812715964
9 Sibir Novosibirsk561525313014719063
10 Amur Khabarovsk561236422912918760
11 Lada Togliatti561402633111517355
12 Metallurg Novokuznetsk561312253310515952

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 counted as a 5–0 defeat for both teams with no points being awarded.[6][7]

Divisional standings edit

Western Conference

DRCRBobrov DivisionGPWOTWSOWSOLOTLLGFGAPts
11 SKA Saint Petersburg5636133310192118122
23 Dynamo Moscow5628234316166151101
36 HC Spartak Moscow562444402017816892
47 CSKA Moscow562235412114813587
58 Dinamo Riga562313432217417584
611 Dinamo Minsk561715203113916465
DRCRTarasov DivisionGPWOTWSOWSOLOTLLGFGAPts
12 HC MVD5630106415160135102
24 Atlant Moscow Oblast5624491216173137101
35 Lokomotiv Yaroslavl562632441716313296
43 Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod562211142715416375
53 Severstal Cherepovets561627622315116274
612 Vityaz Chekhov561332233314221654

Eastern Conference

DRCRKharlamov DivisionGPWOTWSOWSOLOTLLGFGAPts
12 Metallurg Magnitogorsk5634241015167111115
23 Ak Bars Kazan562544321815912896
34 Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk562731402117616693
47 Traktor Chelyabinsk561803223113719264
58 Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg561426242812715964
611 Lada Togliatti561402633111517355
DRCRChernyshev DivisionGPWOTWSOWSOLOTLLGFGAPts
11 Salavat Yulaev Ufa563743318215116129
25 Avangard Omsk562422641815212890
36 Barys Astana562051612316917379
49 SibirNovosibirsk561525313014719063
510 Amur Khabarovsk561236422912918760
612 Metallurg Novokuznetsk561312253310515952

League leaders edit

Source: khl.ru[11][12]

Goals Marcel Hossa (Riga)35
Assists Alexei Yashin (SKA)46
Points Sergei Mozyakin (Atlant)
66
Shots on goal 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 edit

Source: khl.ru[13]

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

PlayerTeamGPGAPts+/–PIM
Sergei MozyakinAtlant Moscow Oblast56273966+2444
Maxim SushinskiSKA Saint Petersburg56273865+2887
Alexei YashinSKA Saint Petersburg56184664+2138
Alexander RadulovSalavat Yulaev Ufa54243963+4462
Mattias WeinhandlDynamo Moscow56263460+1036
Patrick ThoresenSalavat Yulaev Ufa56243357+4571
Marcel HossaDinamo Riga56351954–344
Jiří HudlerDynamo Moscow54193554+7115
Branko RadivojevičSpartak Moscow56183654–418
Sergei ZinovjevSalavat Yulaev Ufa47173653+2483

Leading goaltenders edit

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

PlayerTeamGPMinWLSOLGASOSV%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 edit

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 QuarterfinalsConference SemifinalsConference FinalsGagarin Cup Finals
            
1 Salavat Yulaev3
8 Avtomobilist1
1 Salavat Yulaev4
4 Neftekhimik2
2 Metallurg Mg3
7 Traktor1
1 Salavat Yulaev2
Eastern Conference
3 Ak Bars4
3 Ak Bars3
6 Barys0
2 Metallurg Mg2
3 Ak Bars4
4 Neftekhimik3
5 Avangard0
E Ak Bars4
W HC MVD3
1 SKA1
8 Dinamo Riga3
2 HC MVD4
8 Dinamo Riga1
2 HC MVD3
7 CSKA0
2 HC MVD4
Western Conference
5 Lokomotiv3
3 Dynamo Moscow1
6 Spartak3
5 Lokomotiv4
6 Spartak2
4 Atlant1
5 Lokomotiv3

Playoff leaders edit

Source: khl.ru[15][16]

Goals Alexei Ugarov (Balashikha)9
Assists Alexander Radulov (Ufa)
Alexei Tsvetkov (Balashikha)
11
Points Alexander Radulov (Ufa)
19
Shots on goal 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 edit

Source: khl.ru[17]

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

PlayerTeamGPGAPts+/–PIM
Alexander RadulovSalavat Yulaev Ufa1681119+710
Niko KapanenAk Bars Kazan228917+36
Alexei TsvetkovHC MVD2251116+614
Alexander GalimovLokomotiv Yaroslavl168614+433
Patrick ThoresenSalavat Yulaev Ufa155914+337

Leading goaltenders edit

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

PlayerTeamGPMinWLGASOSV%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 edit

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 edit

Players of the Month edit

Best KHL players of each month.

MonthGoaltenderDefenseForwardRookie
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)
FebruaryOlympic 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 edit

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 edit

  1. ^ a b c "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. ^ a b "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. ^ a b "Brawl in KHL game yields 691 penalty minutes". ESPN.com. 10 January 2010. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
  7. ^ a b "Both teams lose". en.khl.ru. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
  8. ^ "No revenge for Yashin". KHL.ru. 30 January 2010. Archived from the original on 24 February 2012. 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. Archived from the original on 24 February 2012. Retrieved 1 December 2009.
  21. ^ "November's finest". KHL.ru. 2 December 2009. Archived from the original on 24 February 2012. Retrieved 3 December 2009.
  22. ^ "December's finest". KHL.ru. 1 January 2010. Archived from the original on 24 February 2012. 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.