# 2008–09 KHL season

The 2008–09 KHL season was the inaugural season of the Kontinental Hockey League. It started on September 2, 2008, and finished on April 12, 2009. 24 teams each played 56 games.

## League business
### NHL player transfer

KHL teams signed several players from the NHL, including Jaromír Jágr, Alexander Radulov, Ray Emery, Sergei Brylin, Ladislav Nagy, Jozef Stümpel, Marcel Hossa, Ben Clymer, Alexei Zhitnik, Bryan Berard and Chris Simon.

#### Dispute

A dispute between the two leagues over some of these signings was supposed to have been resolved by an agreement signed on July 10, whereby each league would honor the contracts of the other, but the signing of Alexander Radulov was made public one day after the agreement (though it was actually signed two days prior to the agreement taking effect), leading to an investigation by the International Ice Hockey Federation.

### Finances
#### Ownership

On a deal dated October 30, Magnitogorsk Iron and Steel Works bought 11.76% of the KHL.

#### Salary cap

The league has implemented a salary cap.

#### Economic trouble

Metallurg Novokuznetsk experienced difficulty financing its operations due to the Great Recession. Team sponsor Evraz Group was rumoured to cut funding.
HC MVD experienced delays in paying players, while Khimik Voskresensk has run itself into debt. Metallurg Magnitogorsk has been forced to cut staff expenditures by 30%. Avangard Omsk owner Roman Abramovich has promised to continue financial support so long as the team maintains good results. Other teams experiencing financial limitations are Vityaz Chekhov, Atlant Moscow Oblast, Lokomotiv Yaroslavl, HC CSKA Moscow.
As far as the league is concerned it has devised a "crisis package" for dealing with the economic turmoil. Cuts will be made to non-salary expenditures, such as pre-game activity, training camps, and elimination of pre-season tournaments. Mid-level player salaries may also be rolled back. Divisional re-alignment will also take place for the 2009–10 season to cut down on travel costs.

### Inaugural All-Star Game

The inaugural KHL All-Star Game took place on January 10, 2009. Each team consisted of ten forwards, five defensemen, and two goaltenders. The starting rosters were voted upon on the KHL.ru website and decided by December 22. The secondary lines and goaltenders were to be voted upon by the media, and announced December 26, with the following players and reserves announced by January 8. The game took place in Moscow's Red Square, with Team Jágr (International All-Stars) defeating Team Yashin (Russian All-Stars) 7–6.

## Regular season
### Death of Alexei Cherepanov

On October 13, 2008 during a match between Avangard Omsk and Vityaz Chekhov, forward Alexei Cherepanov died due to a heart condition.
On December 29, 2008, Russian investigators revealed that he suffered from myocarditis, a condition where not enough blood gets to the heart, and that he should not have been playing professional hockey. The federal Investigative Committee also announced that a chemical analysis of Cherepanov's blood and urine samples allowed experts to conclude "that for several months Alexei Cherepanov engaged in doping". Official sources have stated the banned substance taken was nikethamide, a stimulant, and that it had been taken 3 hours prior to the game in which he died.
Omsk club director Mikhail Denisov has since been fired, whereas the league Disciplinary Committee has since removed Omsk's doctors from that role with the club, and has suspended Avangard general manager Anatoly Bardin and team president Konstantin Potapov. The KHL Disciplinary Committee met on this matter on January 5, and also suspended Chekhov's team president.

### League standings

Final standings.
Points have been 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
| Rank | Team | GP | W | OTW | SOW | SOL | OTL | L | GF | GA | Pts |
| 1 | Salavat Yulaev Ufa | 56 | 38 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 8 | 203 | 116 | 129 |
| 2 | Ak Bars Kazan | 56 | 36 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 10 | 189 | 123 | 122 |
| 3 | Lokomotiv Yaroslavl | 56 | 32 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 13 | 175 | 111 | 111 |
| 4 | CSKA Moscow | 56 | 27 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 4 | 11 | 176 | 141 | 106 |
| 5 | Atlant Moscow Oblast | 56 | 35 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 11 | 189 | 111 | 122 |
| 6 | Metallurg Magnitogorsk | 56 | 25 | 2 | 11 | 2 | 1 | 15 | 174 | 148 | 104 |
| 7 | Dynamo Moscow | 56 | 27 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 17 | 184 | 143 | 100 |
| 8 | SKA Saint Petersburg | 56 | 26 | 2 | 7 | 4 | 0 | 17 | 143 | 105 | 100 |
| 9 | Spartak Moscow | 56 | 26 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 21 | 173 | 158 | 93 |
| 10 | Dinamo Riga | 56 | 24 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 23 | 132 | 156 | 86 |
| 11 | Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod | 56 | 24 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 24 | 162 | 162 | 84 |
| 12 | Traktor Chelyabinsk | 56 | 24 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 3 | 22 | 142 | 166 | 84 |
| 13 | Lada Togliatti | 56 | 21 | 3 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 22 | 120 | 116 | 84 |
| 14 | Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk | 56 | 22 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 24 | 146 | 140 | 79 |
| 15 | Barys Astana | 56 | 20 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 25 | 174 | 191 | 78 |
| 16 | Avangard Omsk | 56 | 19 | 2 | 6 | 1 | 4 | 24 | 161 | 164 | 78 |
| 17 | Severstal Cherepovets | 56 | 19 | 1 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 25 | 142 | 171 | 77 |
| 18 | HC MVD | 56 | 20 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 29 | 142 | 159 | 73 |
| 19 | Sibir Novosibirsk | 56 | 15 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 5 | 28 | 146 | 172 | 64 |
| 20 | Amur Khabarovsk | 56 | 15 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 1 | 30 | 111 | 158 | 60 |
| 21 | Metallurg Novokuznetsk | 56 | 12 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 2 | 31 | 127 | 157 | 54 |
| 22 | Dinamo Minsk | 56 | 12 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 2 | 34 | 124 | 197 | 49 |
| 23 | Vityaz Chekhov | 56 | 6 | 2 | 3 | 7 | 5 | 33 | 134 | 225 | 40 |
| 24 | Khimik Voskresensk | 56 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 2 | 36 | 108 | 187 | 39 |

### Divisional standing

| DR | LR | Bobrov Division | GP | W | OTW | SOW | SOL | OTL | L | GF | GA | Pts |
| 1 | 1 | Salavat Yulaev Ufa | 56 | 38 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 8 | 203 | 116 | 129 |
| 2 | 5 | Atlant Moscow Oblast | 56 | 35 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 11 | 189 | 111 | 122 |
| 3 | 9 | Spartak Moscow | 56 | 26 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 21 | 173 | 158 | 93 |
| 4 | 17 | Severstal Cherepovets | 56 | 19 | 1 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 25 | 142 | 171 | 77 |
| 5 | 21 | Metallurg Novokuznetsk | 56 | 12 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 2 | 31 | 127 | 157 | 54 |
| 6 | 22 | Dinamo Minsk | 56 | 12 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 2 | 34 | 124 | 197 | 49 |
| DR | LR | Tarasov Division | GP | W | OTW | SOW | SOL | OTL | L | GF | GA | Pts |
| 1 | 4 | CSKA Moscow | 56 | 27 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 4 | 11 | 176 | 141 | 106 |
| 2 | 6 | Metallurg Magnitogorsk | 56 | 25 | 2 | 11 | 2 | 1 | 15 | 174 | 148 | 104 |
| 3 | 8 | SKA Saint Petersburg | 56 | 26 | 2 | 7 | 4 | 0 | 17 | 143 | 105 | 100 |
| 4 | 12 | Traktor Chelyabinsk | 56 | 24 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 3 | 22 | 142 | 166 | 84 |
| 5 | 18 | HC MVD | 56 | 20 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 29 | 142 | 159 | 73 |
| 6 | 24 | Khimik Voskresensk | 56 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 2 | 36 | 108 | 187 | 39 |
| DR | LR | Kharlamov Division | GP | W | OTW | SOW | SOL | OTL | L | GF | GA | Pts |
| 1 | 3 | Lokomotiv Yaroslavl | 56 | 32 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 13 | 175 | 111 | 111 |
| 2 | 10 | Dinamo Riga | 56 | 24 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 23 | 132 | 156 | 86 |
| 3 | 13 | Lada Togliatti | 56 | 21 | 3 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 22 | 120 | 116 | 84 |
| 4 | 16 | Avangard Omsk | 56 | 19 | 2 | 6 | 1 | 4 | 24 | 161 | 164 | 78 |
| 5 | 19 | Sibir Novosibirsk | 56 | 15 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 5 | 28 | 146 | 172 | 64 |
| 6 | 20 | Amur Khabarovsk | 56 | 15 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 1 | 30 | 11 | 158 | 60 |
| DR | LR | Chernyshev Division | GP | W | OTW | SOW | SOL | OTL | L | GF | GA | Pts |
| 1 | 2 | Ak Bars Kazan | 56 | 36 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 10 | 189 | 123 | 122 |
| 2 | 7 | Dynamo Moscow | 56 | 27 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 17 | 184 | 143 | 100 |
| 3 | 11 | Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod | 56 | 24 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 24 | 162 | 162 | 84 |
| 4 | 14 | Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk | 56 | 22 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 24 | 146 | 140 | 79 |
| 5 | 15 | Barys Astana | 56 | 20 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 25 | 174 | 191 | 78 |
| 6 | 23 | Vityaz Chekhov | 56 | 6 | 2 | 3 | 7 | 5 | 33 | 134 | 225 | 40 |

### League leaders

| Goals | Jan Marek (Magnitogorsk) | 35 |
| Assists | Sergei Mozyakin (Atlant) | 42 |
| Points | Sergei Mozyakin (Atlant) | 76 |
| Shots | Kevin Dallman (Astana) | 218 |
| Plus–minus | Alexei Tereschenko (Ufa) | +41 |
| Penalty minutes | Chris Simon (Chekhov) | 263 |
| Wins (Goaltenders) | Georgi Gelashvili (Yaroslavl) | 30 |
| Goals against average | Dmitri Yachanov (SKA) | 1.47 |
| Save percentage | Vitaly Kolesnik (Atlant) | .945 |
Goaltenders: minimum 15 games played

### Scoring leaders

GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/– = P Plus–minus; PIM = Penalty minutes
| Player | Team | GP | G | A | Pts | +/– | PIM |
| Sergei Mozyakin | Atlant Moscow Oblast | 56 | 34 | 42 | 76 | +34 | 14 |
| Jan Marek | Metallurg Magnitogorsk | 53 | 35 | 37 | 72 | +26 | 62 |
| Aleksey Morozov | Ak Bars Kazan | 49 | 32 | 39 | 71 | +22 | 22 |
| Danis Zaripov | Ak Bars Kazan | 56 | 34 | 31 | 65 | +26 | 26 |
| Kevin Dallman | Barys Astana | 53 | 28 | 30 | 58 | +6 | 137 |
| Alexei Tereschenko | Salavat Yulaev Ufa | 55 | 28 | 30 | 58 | +41 | 22 |
| Jaromír Jágr | Avangard Omsk | 55 | 25 | 28 | 53 | −1 | 62 |
| Alexander Korolyuk | Atlant Moscow Oblast | 56 | 21 | 32 | 53 | +21 | 32 |
| Alexander Perezhogin | Salavat Yulaev Ufa | 55 | 28 | 24 | 52 | +34 | 32 |
| Konstantin Glazachev | Barys Astana | 56 | 28 | 24 | 52 | −7 | 30 |

## Playoffs

| Preliminary Round (best of 5) | Preliminary Round (best of 5) | Preliminary Round (best of 5) | Quarter-finals (best of 5) | Quarter-finals (best of 5) | Quarter-finals (best of 5) | Semi-finals (best of 7) | Semi-finals (best of 7) | Semi-finals (best of 7) | | Gagarin Cup Finals (best of 7) | Gagarin Cup Finals (best of 7) | Gagarin Cup Finals (best of 7) |
| 2 | Ak Bars | 3 | | | | | | | | | | |
| 15 | Barys Astana | 0 | | | | | | | | | | |
| 15 | Barys Astana | 0 | 2 | Ak Bars | 3 | | | | | | | |
| | | | 16 | Avangard | 2 | | | | | | | |
| 1 | Salavat Yulaev | 1 | 16 | Avangard | 2 | | | | | | | |
| 16 | Avangard | 3 | | | | | | | | | | |
| 16 | Avangard | 3 | | | | 2 | Ak Bars | 4 | | | | |
| | | | | | | 7 | Dynamo Msk | 2 | | | | |
| 4 | CSKA | 3 | | | | | | | 7 | Dynamo Msk | 2 | | | | |
| 13 | Lada | 2 | | | | | | | | | | |
| 13 | Lada | 2 | 4 | CSKA | 0 | | | | | | | |
| | | | 7 | Dynamo Msk | 3 | | | | | | | |
| 7 | Dynamo Msk | 3 | 7 | Dynamo Msk | 3 | | | | | | | |
| 10 | Dinamo Rg | 0 | | | | | | | | | | |
| 10 | Dinamo Rg | 0 | | | | | | | | 2 | Ak Bars | 4 |
| | | | | | | | | | | 3 | Lokomotiv | 3 |
| 3 | Lokomotiv | 3 | | | | | | | | | | | 3 | Lokomotiv | 3 |
| 14 | Neftekhimik | 1 | | | | | | | | | | |
| 14 | Neftekhimik | 1 | 3 | Lokomotiv | 3 | | | | | | | |
| | | | 9 | Spartak | 0 | | | | | | | |
| 8 | SKA | 0 | 9 | Spartak | 0 | | | | | | | |
| 9 | Spartak | 3 | | | | | | | | | | |
| 9 | Spartak | 3 | | | | 3 | Lokomotiv | 4 | | | | |
| | | | | | | 6 | Metallurg Mg | 1 | | | | |
| 5 | Atlant | 3 | | | | | | | 6 | Metallurg Mg | 1 | | | | |
| 12 | Traktor | 0 | | | | | | | | | | |
| 12 | Traktor | 0 | 5 | Atlant | 1 | | | | | | | |
| | | | 6 | Metallurg Mg | 3 | | | | | | | |
| 6 | Metallurg Mg | 3 | 6 | Metallurg Mg | 3 | | | | | | | |
| 11 | Torpedo | 0 | | | | | | | | | | |

### Playoff leaders

Source: khl.ru
| Goals | Jukka Hentunen (Kazan) | 9 |
| Assists | Alexei Morozov (Kazan) Alexei Yashin (Yaroslavl) | 11 |
| Points | Alexei Morozov (Kazan) | 19 |
| Shots | Danis Zaripov (Kazan) | 71 |
| Plus–minus | Ilya Nikulin (Kazan) | +13 |
| Penalty minutes | Grigori Panin (Kazan) | 69 |
| Wins (Goaltenders) | Georgi Gelashvili (Yaroslavl) | 13 |
| Goals against average | Vitali Yeremeyev (Dynamo M) | 1.63 |
| Save percentage | Alexander Pimankin (Nizhny Novgorod) | 94.4 |
| Shutouts | Georgi Gelashvili (Yaroslavl) | 5 |
Goaltenders: minimum 5 games played

#### Scoring leaders

Source: khl.ru
GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/– = P Plus–minus; PIM = Penalty minutes
| Player | Team | GP | G | A | Pts | +/– | PIM |
| Alexei Morozov | Ak Bars Kazan | 21 | 8 | 11 | 19 | +8 | 12 |
| Alexei Yashin | Lokomotiv Yaroslavl | 19 | 7 | 11 | 18 | +3 | 10 |
| Tony Mårtensson | Ak Bars Kazan | 21 | 7 | 9 | 16 | +10 | 2 |
| Mattias Weinhandl | Dynamo Moscow | 12 | 6 | 10 | 16 | +8 | 4 |
| Danis Zaripov | Ak Bars Kazan | 21 | 6 | 10 | 16 | +9 | 8 |

#### Leading goaltenders

Source: khl.ru
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 |
| Vitali Yeremeyev | Dynamo Moscow | 12 | 700:01 | 8 | 4 | 19 | 1 | .927 | 1.63 |
| Stanislav Galimov | Ak Bars Kazan | 7 | 396:05 | 3 | 2 | 11 | 1 | .926 | 1.67 |
| Jussi Markkanen | CSKA Moscow | 7 | 379:16 | 3 | 3 | 11 | 2 | .934 | 1.74 |
| Georgi Gelashvili | Lokomotiv Yaroslavl | 19 | 1,129:56 | 13 | 6 | 33 | 5 | .933 | 1.75 |
| Ray Emery | Atlant Moscow Oblast | 7 | 418:56 | 4 | 3 | 13 | 1 | .941 | 1.86 |

## Awards
### Players of the Month

Best KHL players of each month.
| Month | Goaltender | Defense | Forward | Rookie |
| September | Alexander Eremenko (Ufa) | Magnus Johansson (Atlant) | Sergei Mozyakin (Atlant) | Maxim Kitsyn (Novokuznetsk) |
| October | Vitaly Kolesnik (Atlant) | Ilya Nikulin (Kazan) | Jan Marek (Magnitogorsk) | Andrei Kolesnikov (Chekhov) |
| November | Robert Esche (St. Petersburg) | Konstantin Korneyev (CSKA) | Alexei Tereshchenko (Ufa) | Stanislav Galimov (Kazan) |
| December | Martin Prusek (Riga) | Karel Rachůnek (Dynamo M) | Danis Zaripov (Kazan) | Alexandr Vasiliev (Chekhov) |
| January | Vitaliy Yeremeyev (Dynamo M) | Vitali Proshkin (Ufa) | Alexander Korolyuk (Atlant) | Alexandr Vasiliev (Chekhov) |
| February | Dimitrij Kotschnew (Spartak) | Peter Podhradský (Torpedo) | Danis Zaripov (Kazan) | Stepan Zakharchuk (Togliatti) |
| March | Georgi Gelashvili (Yaroslavl) | Ilya Nikulin (Kazan) | Mattias Weinhandl (Dynamo M) | |

### KHL Awards

On 15 May 2009, the KHL held their first award ceremony. A total of 23 different awards were handed out to teams, players, officials and media. The most important trophies are listed in the table below.
| Golden Hockey Stick Trophy (regular-season MVP) | Danis Zaripov (Kazan) |
| Play-off Master Award (play-off MVP) | Alexei Morozov (Kazan) |
| Alexei Cherepanov Award (best rookie) | Ilya Proskuryakov (Magnitogorsk) |