Team management
In 1977, Torpedo was relegated to the Soviet Hockey Championship's Class A3. However, three years later they returned to Class A2 Division. That team was coached by Valentin Grigoriev and formed only by its own hockey school graduates. In the early 1980th, the team was headed by local coach Viktor Semykin. The young manager gathered new powerful squad. The team included the most famous local graduate Boris Alexandrov, who returned from CSKA Moscow to his hometown. He became famous all over the world after playing in the Super Series '76 with the team CSKA Moscow and scoring against the New York Rangers, the Montreal Canadiens and the Boston Bruins. In 1986, a conflict between Semykin and the players saw Semykin sacked. Team management assigned Vladimir Goltze as a new head coach. He led the team to the Soviet Hockey Championship's Class A. It was the team's first time at that level. Boris Alexandrov was the best goalscorer at the first round of championships. However, the team was relegated after one season to Class A2 Division. One season later, they returned to the highest division. They stayed at the top division for three seasons until the dissolution of the Soviet Union.