Reideborn's departure from CSKA, the restructuring of SKA and the strengthening of Dynamo: how the offseason began in the KHL

CSKA's losses

One of the main intrigues of the offseason was whether CSKA would be able to keep its championship squad and, if not, which of the main creators of the second consecutive victory in the Gagarin Cup would move to another team. At the moment, there are rumors about the departure of four hockey players. But if Vladimir Bryukvin and Artyom Sergeev cannot be called key elements in the formations of Sergei Fedorov, then Konstantin Okulov and Adam Redeborn played a huge role in the campaign for the trophy and were one of the leaders.

It is not yet known for certain where exactly the striker and goalkeeper will continue their careers. Moreover, there is still the possibility that both will remain in the capital. According to Igor Esmantovich, CSKA is not averse to continuing cooperation and even made proposals to the athletes. However, the media are increasingly talking about their departure. In particular, Okulov is actively wooed to Lokomotiv, while his agent also talks about interest from the NHL.

But if in the case of Okulov, the extension of the agreement may be hindered by the lack of space in the payroll, then with Reideborn the situation is even more complicated. According to Metaratings, the reason for his departure is the limit on foreign players. Allegedly, CSKA plans to strengthen the defensive line with a foreigner, and entrust the position of the first number to Ivan Fedotov, who should soon return from the army.

Reideborn, as expected, was not deprived of the attention of other clubs. Metallurg and Salavat Yulaev expressed interest in his services, but, apparently, the offer of Ufa residents was more interesting. According to Sport Business Online, the Swedish goalkeeper has already reached an agreement with the Greens, and in the near future his transfer will be officially announced.

Restructuring of SKA

In turn, CSKA's main opponents in the Western Conference decided to seriously update the team. In addition to Matvey Michkov and Nikita Zorkin, who returned from loan, SKA added five new players, some of whom moved to St. Petersburg as a result of an exchange with Vityaz. The place of the departed Kirill Kirsanov and Vladislav Tsitsyura was taken by Ivan Zinchenko and Stepan Starkov, who shared the title of the best scorer of the Moscow Region team with Scott Wilson last season. The 23-year-old forward scored 39 (17 + 22) points in 67 games and made a return to the Northern capital. There he finished the 2020/21 championship.

After many years of absence, Artyom Zemchenok and Alexander Kadeikin returned to St. Petersburg. The defender left SKA in 2020, after which he successfully played for Metallurg, and the forward in 2016 became part of a large exchange with Lokomotiv, as a result of which the army team received the rights to Sergei Plotnikov. He spent his last years in Salavat, where he was one of the leaders of the attack. Last season, he scored 13 goals and 26 assists, behind only Alexander Chmielewski and Sergei Shmelev.

Against their background, Pavel Dedunov, who had not previously defended the colors of St. Petersburg, stands apart. And even if he cannot boast of high productivity, and in the last three seasons he has not been able to overcome the bar of seven points scored, he will certainly compensate for this at the expense of experience. After all, the 33-year-old striker knows firsthand how to succeed in the playoffs and beat the army team from Moscow. In 2021, he helped Avangard break CSKA's resistance in the Gagarin Cup final.

At the same time, there is evidence that SKA does not intend to stop there. The press is talking about the imminent transfer to the team of CSKA defender Sergeev, as well as the forward of Dinamo Minsk Vladimir Alistrov. The young Belarusian gave the best stretch in his career and set a personal record for points for the regular season (12 + 17), and also showed himself well in the playoffs, hitting the gates of St. Petersburg three times in the first round. Perhaps this is what made Roman Rotenberg pay attention to him.

Yashkin's future and the new stars of Avangard

However, SKA is unlikely to be able to do without serious losses. Earlier it was reported about the departure of Nikita Gusev from the club, who spent the rest of the playoffs in reserve, Dmitry Yashkin also entered the free agent market. The best sniper and scorer of the last championship failed the playoffs and scored only seven (5 + 2) points in 14 matches. And although Rotenberg himself explained this by the injury of the Czech, apparently, he did not interfere with his departure.

And now Yashkin is claimed by several of the strongest teams in the KHL at once, and Ak Bars is called the favorite in the dispute for the forward. The finalist of the Gagarin Cup has allegedly already made an offer to the hockey player, but the negotiations were not put to an end. At the same time, there is information that Dmitry wants to receive about 80 - 85 million rubles a year, and also counts on solid bonuses.

While Ak Bars is only thinking about strengthening the squad, looking closely at Yashkin and Grigory Dronov, its competitors are getting newcomers with might and main. Avangard has already signed a contract with the experienced Libor Šulak, who showed himself well in Admiral, and traded the promising Igor Geraskin from Severstal. In return, the residents of Cherepovka received 17-year-old Timur Mukhanov and monetary compensation. According to rumors, it amounted to 80 million rubles.

As for Geraskin, he looked great in the last championship and broke out with 43 (14 + 29) points, after which he almost helped Severstal crush CSKA in the first round of the Gagarin Cup. The only question is whether he is able to solve problems of a different level and become one of the important players of one of the leaders of the East. Apparently, Avangard is inclined to believe in this. According to media reports, he signed a contract for four years for a total of 170 million rubles.

Strengthening of "Salavat" and "Dynamo"

Salavat also continues its powerful pre-application campaign. Unlike Reideborn, the arrival of a number of newcomers has already been officially announced. Of course, the best sniper of "Siberia" Alexander Sharov, who hit the opponents' goal 29 times in the previous regular season, stands out against the general background. In terms of the number of goals, he lost only to the same Yashkin, and Reed Boucher with Brooks Macek and deserved a promotion. The question is whether he will be able to open up in a new place. He spent the last five years in Novosibirsk, and before that he did not shine.

The second scorer of Neftekhimik Vyacheslav Leshchenko can also strengthen the Ufa team. In the 2022/23 season, he scored 34 (16 + 18) points and lost only to Pavel Poryadin (22 + 15). But if his partner, as a result of the exchange, ended up in Spartak, which he will help qualify for the playoffs, then he himself will focus on fighting for the trophy. Of course, if Salavat does not step on the same rake and loses to the eighth team of the conference in the first round of the Gagarin Cup.

Metallurg also began to recruit the team, which is already guaranteed to have lost the above-mentioned Zemchenok and Andrei Chibisov (moved to Traktor), as well as Vasily Koshechkin and Yaroslav Khabarov, who have completed their careers. In addition to the young people who returned from loan and a small boost from the JHL, ex-Severstal hockey player Robin Press, the fourth top scorer of the last championship among defensemen (11 + 31), was taken. And Artem Zagidulin will try to compensate for the absence of the legendary goalkeeper. And this decision of the management of the "hawks" raised questions among many.

The Russian spent last season in Finland, where he defended the colors of Lukko. And it looked pretty good. In the regular season, he became the fourth in the percentage of reflected shots (91.9%), and maintained that level in the playoffs. The problem is that in Magnitogorsk he showed similar performance only four years ago, and recently he has not finished off even to the mark of 90% of saves.

In the West, Dynamo Moscow was more active than others, having managed to attract five new performers. And if the invitation of Artem Ilyenko, who scored only four goals and gave two assists in the regular season, looks ambiguous, then the rest of the newcomers look more impressive. Here is the second Barys sniper Yegor Petukhov, the silver medalist of the 2020 World Youth Championship Daniil Pylenkov, and Cedric Paquette, who helped Tampa Bay win the second Stanley Cup in its history in the same year. And Yegor Morozov was separately noted by the sports director of Muscovites Alexei Sopin.

"We can safely say that in terms of functionality on the ice, there are only a few players like him on the market. Fast and creative in attack, competent and reliable in defense. A trained and skilled player who has established himself at the KHL level. He can play both in the majority and in the minority, "the functionary admired.