2025–26 KHL season
| 2025–26 KHL season | |
|---|---|
| League | Kontinental Hockey League |
| Sport | Ice hockey |
| Duration |
|
| Games | 68 |
| Teams | 22 |
| TV partner(s) | KHL TV, KHL Prime
Match TV (Russia)
|
| Regular season | |
| Playoffs | |
The 2025–26 KHL season is the 18th season of the Kontinental Hockey League. There are 22 teams that will compete in 68 regular season games, with 182 playing days, between 5 September 2025 and 20 March 2026.[2]
Season changes
For the 2025–26 season, the competition was reduced to 22 teams, following the announcement that inaugural member HC Vityaz were initially withdrawing from the league for the season due to financial constraints, on 24 June 2025.[3][4] After an emergency league meeting with the board of directors, it was announced that Vityaz would not be eligible for a return to the competition until 2030.[5] As a result of Vityaz's exit, and in order for conference balance, Lada Togliatti who played in the Kharlamov Division of the Eastern Conference were moved to the Bobrov Division of the Western Conference.[5]
On 7 August 2025, with Kunlun Red Star undergoing a change of ownership, the club announced they would rebrand as the Shanghai Dragons, and relocate from Beijing to Shanghai, while still being initially based in St. Petersburg, Russia, and would retain their place in the Tarasov Division.[6]
As a result of Vityaz's withdrawal the regular season was reduced to 748 games for 182 gamedays, with each club played 68 regular season engagements. Since the Russian and Belarusian teams will not be participating in the Olympic Games, there will only be a break in February, from February 6th to 9th, for the KHL 2026 Fonbet All-Star Game. The first break in December will be between December 8th and 15th for the Channel One Cup.[7]
The league's salary floor has been raised to 475 million rubles. The salary cap stayed at 900 million rubles, excluding certain bonuses.[8]
In addition, in shootouts teams would now have three attempts instead of five.[9]
The league continued the previous two seasons playoff format for the Gagarin Cup playoffs with a cross playoff system in which teams participate in the Conference Quarterfinals before a cross conference switch and re-seeding take place from the second round.[10][11]
Teams
The 22 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.
Each team will feature in 68 games in which every team will play each other once at home. This results in 21 home and 21 away games. In addition, there will be 10 home and 10 away games against teams from the same conference, plus six special games per team.[7] 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.[12]
Opening Cup
The season started on 5 September 2025 with the Opening Cup. The 2025–26 Opening Cup was contested between Lokomotiv Yaroslavl, the 2024–25 Gagarin Cup Champions and Traktor Chelyabinsk, the 2024–25 Gagarin Cup runner-up. Lokomotiv won the game 2-1 in the shootout.
| September 5, 2025 | Lokomotiv Yaroslavl | 2–1 SO (0–0, 1–0, 0–1, 0-0, 1-0) | Traktor Chelyabinsk | Arena 2000, Yaroslavl, Russia Attendance: 8,115 |
| Game reference | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daniil Isayev | Goalies | Chris Driedger | Referees: Viktor Gashilov Denis Naumov Linesmen: Dmitry Shishlo Dmitry Sivov | ||
| |||||
| Alexander Radulov Byron Froese Maxim Beryozkin | Shootout | Pierrick Dube Joshua Leivo Mikhail Grigorenko | |||
| 12 min | Penalties | 16 min | |||
| 35 | Shots | 28 | |||
Standings
Western Conference
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | OTW | OTL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lokomotiv Yaroslavl (O, Q, T, Y) | 68 | 34 | 12 | 6 | 16 | 185 | 135 | +50 | 98 | Conference winner and Home advantage in Conference Quarterfinals of Gagarin Cup Playoffs |
| 2 | Dinamo Minsk (Q) | 68 | 33 | 6 | 10 | 19 | 247 | 173 | +74 | 88 | Home advantage in Conference Quarterfinals of Gagarin Cup Playoffs |
| 3 | Severstal Cherepovets (Q) | 68 | 29 | 11 | 6 | 22 | 197 | 185 | +12 | 86 | |
| 4 | CSKA Moscow (Q) | 68 | 33 | 5 | 8 | 22 | 162 | 144 | +18 | 84 | |
| 5 | SKA Saint Petersburg (B, Q) | 68 | 28 | 9 | 7 | 24 | 197 | 170 | +27 | 81 | Advance to Gagarin Cup Playoffs |
| 6 | Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod (Q) | 68 | 27 | 10 | 7 | 24 | 191 | 191 | 0 | 81 | |
| 7 | Dynamo Moscow (Q) | 68 | 26 | 12 | 5 | 25 | 188 | 174 | +14 | 81 | |
| 8 | Spartak Moscow (Q) | 68 | 29 | 6 | 9 | 24 | 204 | 201 | +3 | 79 | |
| 9 | Shanghai Dragons | 68 | 16 | 5 | 12 | 35 | 166 | 238 | −72 | 54 | |
| 10 | Lada Togliatti | 68 | 17 | 3 | 7 | 41 | 157 | 240 | −83 | 47 | |
| 11 | HC Sochi | 68 | 16 | 2 | 8 | 42 | 139 | 233 | −94 | 44 |
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.
(B) Won Bobrov Division; (O) Won Opening Cup; (Q) Qualified for Gagarin cup playoffs; (T) Won Tarasov Division; (Y) Won Conference
Eastern Conference
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | OTW | OTL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Metallurg Magnitogorsk (K, Q, Y, Z) | 68 | 37 | 12 | 7 | 12 | 252 | 184 | +68 | 105 | Conference winner and Home advantage in Conference Quarterfinals of Gagarin Cup Playoffs |
| 2 | Avangard Omsk (H, Q) | 68 | 36 | 11 | 5 | 16 | 228 | 159 | +69 | 99 | Home advantage in Conference Quarterfinals of Gagarin Cup Playoffs |
| 3 | Ak Bars Kazan (Q) | 68 | 38 | 5 | 8 | 17 | 212 | 169 | +43 | 94 | |
| 4 | Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg (Q) | 68 | 32 | 8 | 4 | 24 | 206 | 164 | +42 | 84 | |
| 5 | Salavat Yulaev Ufa (Q) | 68 | 27 | 9 | 6 | 26 | 180 | 171 | +9 | 78 | Advance to Gagarin Cup Playoffs |
| 6 | Traktor Chelyabinsk (Q) | 68 | 28 | 5 | 9 | 26 | 205 | 195 | +10 | 75 | |
| 7 | Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk (Q) | 68 | 25 | 9 | 3 | 31 | 170 | 188 | −18 | 71 | |
| 8 | Sibir Novosibirsk (Q) | 68 | 15 | 15 | 9 | 29 | 160 | 195 | −35 | 69 | |
| 9 | Amur Khabarovsk | 68 | 22 | 4 | 8 | 34 | 157 | 192 | −35 | 60 | |
| 10 | Barys Astana | 68 | 16 | 5 | 12 | 35 | 154 | 208 | −54 | 54 | |
| 11 | Admiral Vladivostok | 68 | 16 | 4 | 12 | 36 | 161 | 209 | −48 | 52 |
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
(H) Won Chernyshev Division; (K) Won Kharlamov Division; (Q) Qualified for Gagarin cup playoffs; (Y) Won Conference; (Z) Won Continental Cup
Continental Cup
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | OTW | OTL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Metallurg Magnitogorsk (K, Q, Y, Z) | 68 | 37 | 12 | 7 | 12 | 252 | 184 | +68 | 105 | Continental Cup winner and first overall seed in Gagarin Cup Playoffs |
| 2 | Avangard Omsk (H, Q) | 68 | 36 | 11 | 5 | 16 | 228 | 159 | +69 | 99 | |
| 3 | Lokomotiv Yaroslavl (O, Q, T, Y) | 68 | 34 | 12 | 6 | 16 | 185 | 135 | +50 | 98 | |
| 4 | Ak Bars Kazan (Q) | 68 | 38 | 5 | 8 | 17 | 212 | 169 | +43 | 94 | |
| 5 | Dinamo Minsk (Q) | 68 | 33 | 6 | 10 | 19 | 247 | 173 | +74 | 88 | |
| 6 | Severstal Cherepovets (Q) | 68 | 29 | 11 | 6 | 22 | 197 | 185 | +12 | 86 | |
| 7 | CSKA Moscow (Q) | 68 | 33 | 5 | 8 | 22 | 162 | 144 | +18 | 84 | |
| 8 | Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg (Q) | 68 | 32 | 8 | 4 | 24 | 206 | 164 | +42 | 84 | |
| 9 | SKA Saint Petersburg (B, Q) | 68 | 28 | 9 | 7 | 24 | 197 | 170 | +27 | 81 | |
| 10 | Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod (Q) | 68 | 27 | 10 | 7 | 24 | 191 | 191 | 0 | 81 | |
| 11 | Dynamo Moscow (Q) | 68 | 26 | 12 | 5 | 25 | 188 | 174 | +14 | 81 | |
| 12 | Spartak Moscow (Q) | 68 | 29 | 6 | 9 | 24 | 204 | 201 | +3 | 79 | |
| 13 | Salavat Yulaev Ufa (Q) | 68 | 27 | 9 | 6 | 26 | 180 | 171 | +9 | 78 | |
| 14 | Traktor Chelyabinsk (Q) | 68 | 28 | 5 | 9 | 26 | 205 | 195 | +10 | 75 | |
| 15 | Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk (Q) | 68 | 25 | 9 | 3 | 31 | 170 | 188 | −18 | 71 | |
| 16 | Sibir Novosibirsk (Q) | 68 | 15 | 15 | 9 | 29 | 160 | 195 | −35 | 69 | |
| 17 | Amur Khabarovsk | 68 | 22 | 4 | 8 | 34 | 157 | 192 | −35 | 60 | |
| 18 | Barys Astana | 68 | 16 | 5 | 12 | 35 | 154 | 208 | −54 | 54 | |
| 19 | Shanghai Dragons | 68 | 16 | 5 | 12 | 35 | 166 | 238 | −72 | 54 | |
| 20 | Admiral Vladivostok | 68 | 16 | 4 | 12 | 36 | 161 | 209 | −48 | 52 | |
| 21 | Lada Togliatti | 68 | 17 | 3 | 7 | 41 | 157 | 240 | −83 | 47 | |
| 22 | HC Sochi | 68 | 16 | 2 | 8 | 42 | 139 | 233 | −94 | 44 |
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.
(B) Won Bobrov Division; (H) Won Chernyshev Division; (K) Won Kharlamov Division; (O) Won Opening Cup; (Q) Qualified for Gagarin cup playoffs; (T) Won Tarasov Division; (Y) Won Conference; (Z) Won Continental Cup
Gagarin Cup playoffs
The Gagarin Cup playoffs will commence on 23 March 2026.
Bracket
| Conference Quarterfinals | Round 2 | Semifinals | Gagarin Cup Finals | ||||||||||||||||
| E1 | Metallurg Mg | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
| E8 | Sibir | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
| 0 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 0 | |||||||||||||||||||
| E2 | Avangard | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
| E7 | Neftekhimik | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
| 0 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 0 | |||||||||||||||||||
| E3 | Ak Bars | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
| E6 | Traktor | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
| 0 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 0 | |||||||||||||||||||
| E4 | Avtomobilist | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
| E5 | Salavat Yulaev | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
| 0 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 0 | |||||||||||||||||||
| W1 | Lokomotiv | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
| W8 | Spartak | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
| 0 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 0 | |||||||||||||||||||
| W2 | Dinamo Mn | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
| W7 | Dynamo Msk | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
| 0 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 0 | |||||||||||||||||||
| W3 | Severstal | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
| W6 | Torpedo | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
| 0 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 0 | |||||||||||||||||||
| W4 | CSKA | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
| W5 | SKA | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
- After the Conference Quarterfinals a conference cross-over and re-seeding commenced
- During the Gagarin Cup Finals the team that finished with higher seed in their conference had home ice (if both teams finished with the same seed the team that earned most points during the regular season had home ice)
- source: KHL[13]
All-Star Game
The 2026 Kontinental Hockey League All-Star Game was hosted at the UMMC Arena in Yekaterinburg on February 7-8, 2026. It used a brand new format with 4 teams: the Ural Stars (players from Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg, Metallurg Magnitogorsk, Salavat Yulaev Ufa and Traktor Chelyabinsk), the World Stars (non-Russian players), the U23 Stars (young players) and the RUS Stars (other selected players).[14]
The RUS Stars won the All-Star Game, defeating the U23 Stars 9-2 in the final. Danil Aimurzin scored five goals in the final and was named the most valuable player.[15]
See also
References
- ^ "КХЛ: где и как смотреть трансляции матчей" (in Russian). Sport-Express. 1 September 2023.
- ^ "2025-2026 KHL season's calendar". Kontinental Hockey League. 18 August 2025. Retrieved 18 August 2025.
- ^ "Vityaz will not participate in the 2025-26 season" (in Russian). HC Vityaz. 26 June 2025. Retrieved 26 June 2025.
- ^ "HC Vityaz Will Not Participate in the 2025-2026 Season" (in Russian). Kontinental Hockey League. 24 June 2025. Retrieved 24 June 2025.
- ^ a b "Vityaz drops out" (in Russian). Kontinental Hockey League. 30 June 2025. Retrieved 30 June 2025.
- ^ "KHL welcomes Shanghai Dragons for 2025-26 season" (in Russian). Kontinental Hockey League. 7 August 2025. Retrieved 7 August 2025.
- ^ a b "Vityaz is out and coaching carousel turns" (in Russian). Kontinental Hockey League. 30 June 2025. Retrieved 30 June 2025.
- ^ "Совет директоров утвердил изменения в систему пола и потолка зарплат" (in Russian). Kontinental Hockey League. 9 June 2025.
- ^ "КХЛ сократила число бросков в послематчевой серии буллитов в регулярном чемпионате с пяти до трех" (in Russian). Match TV. 29 July 2025.
- ^ "Season 2023/2024: 68 regular season games, cross playoffs" (in Russian). Kontinental Hockey League. 18 May 2023. Retrieved 17 July 2023.
- ^ ""Most of the clubs voted for a cross playoff" - Alexei Morozov" (in Russian). Kontinental Hockey League. 13 April 2023. Retrieved 17 June 2023.
- ^ "Kontinental Hockey League Championship – Russian Men's Ice Hockey Championship 2024/2025. Stage 2 Guidelines" (PDF). KHL.ru. Kontinental Hockey League. Retrieved 4 September 2021.
In each Conference teams are seeded first to eighth depending on points scored and regardless of Division placing.
- ^ "Regular KHL 2025/2026 - KHL Standings | Kontinental Hockey League (KHL)". en.khl.ru. Retrieved 12 August 2025.
- ^ "Фонбет Матч Звезд КХЛ 2026: билеты, составы, расписание" (in Russian). Kontinental Hockey League. 21 November 2025.
- ^ "Пента-трик Данила Аймурзина помог KHL RUS Stars разгромить KHL U23 Stars в финале Фонбет Матча Звезд КХЛ 2026" (in Russian). Kontinental Hockey League. 8 February 2026.