2023–24 KHL season

The 2023–24 KHL season was the 16th season of the Kontinental Hockey League. There were 23 teams that competed in 68 regular season games, with a record-breaking 165 playing days, having begun on 1 September 2023 and ended on 26 February 2024.
In the Finals, Metallurg Magnitogorsk completed the series sweep against Lokomotiv Yaroslavl to win their third Gagarin Cup trophy.
==Season changes==
For the 2023–24 season, the competition welcomed the return of Lada Togliatti, marking their third stint in the KHL having last played in the league in 2018.
The regular season was expanded to feature 782 games scheduled for a record-breaking 165 gamedays, with each club to play 68 regular season engagements. The regular season had just one break, from 8–18 December 2023 in which the 2023 All-Star Week took place. For the first time the league changed the playoff format for the Gagarin Cup playoffs by introducing a cross playoff system in which teams participated in the Conference Quarterfinals before a cross conference switch and re-seeding took place from the second round.
==Teams==
The 23 teams are 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.
Lada Togliatti was assigned to play in the Kharlamov Division in the Eastern Conference with every other participant remaining in their previous season allotment.
Western Conference 	Western Conference 	Eastern Conference 	Eastern Conference
Bobrov Division 	Tarasov Division 	Kharlamov Division 	Chernyshev Division
SKA Saint Petersburg 	CSKA Moscow 	Ak Bars Kazan 	Admiral Vladivostok
HC Sochi 	Dinamo Minsk 	Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg	Amur Khabarovsk
Spartak Moscow 	Dynamo Moscow 	Lada Togliatti 	Avangard Omsk
Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod	Kunlun Red Star 	Metallurg Magnitogorsk 	Barys Astana
Vityaz Podolsk 	Lokomotiv Yaroslavl 	Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk 	Salavat Yulaev Ufa
 	Severstal Cherepovets	Traktor Chelyabinsk 	Sibir Novosibirsk
Each team plays 68 games: in the Western Conference team play every other team home-and-away (44 games), plus an additional 20 intra-conference games (10 home and 10 away games). The remaining 4 games were slated against opposition selected with a view to increasing the number of high-profile match-ups (2 home, 2 on the road). In the Eastern Conference team play every other team home-and-away (44 games), plus an additional 22 intra-conference games (11 home and 11 away games). The remaining 2 games were slated against opposition selected with a view to increasing the number of high-profile match-ups (1 home, 1 on the road). 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.
==Opening Cup==
The 2023-24 KHL season started on 1 September 2023 with the Opening cup. The 2023–24 Opening Cup was contested between CSKA Moscow the 2022-23 Gagarin Cup Champions and Ak Bars Kazan the 2022-23 Gagarin Cup runner up. On September 1st Ak Bars Kazan defeated CSKA Moscow 5-2 at CSKA Arena in Moscow.
==Standings==
===Western Conference===
===Eastern Conference===
===Continental Cup===
==Gagarin Cup playoffs==
The Gagarin Cup playoffs started on 29 February 2024.Metallurg Magnitogorsk Won the Gagarin cup on 4 April 2024 by sweeping the finals series.
===Bracket=== 
*After the Conference Quarterfinals a conference cross-over and re-seeding will commence
*During the Gagarin Cup Finals the team that finished with higher seed in their conference has home ice (if both teams finished with the same seed the team that earned most points during the regular season has home ice)
*source: KHL
==References==
==External links==
* 
Category:Kontinental Hockey League seasons
KHL
Category:2023–24 in Russian ice hockey