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.
*9/1: Ak Bars Kazan - CSKA Moscow 5:2
==Standings==
===Western Conference===
Pos	Team 	Pld	W 	OTW	OTL	L 	GF 	GA 	GD 	Pts 	
1 	Dynamo Moscow (Z, T) 	68 	31	15 	6 	16	215	160	98 	Conference winner and Home advantage in Conference Quarterfinals of Gagarin Cup Playoffs	
2 	SKA Saint Petersburg (B)	68 	40	6 	3 	19	220	139	95 	Home advantage in Conference Quarterfinals of Gagarin Cup Playoffs 	
3 	Lokomotiv Yaroslavl 	68 	34	10 	5 	19	174	139	93 	Home advantage in Conference Quarterfinals of Gagarin Cup Playoffs 	
4 	Spartak Moscow 	68 	36	4 	8 	20	233	189	88 	Home advantage in Conference Quarterfinals of Gagarin Cup Playoffs 	
5 	Severstal Cherepovets 	68 	30	6 	8 	24	203	185	80 	Advance to Gagarin Cup Playoffs 	
6 	CSKA Moscow 	68 	30	4 	8 	26	193	166	76 	Advance to Gagarin Cup Playoffs 	
7 	Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod 	68 	27	7 	7 	27	189	180	75 	Advance to Gagarin Cup Playoffs 	
8 	Dinamo Minsk 	68 	26	6 	5 	31	180	178	69 	Advance to Gagarin Cup Playoffs 	
9 	Kunlun Red Star 	68 	15	10 	6 	37	159	222	−63	56 	
10 	HC Sochi 	68 	19	4 	7 	38	168	254	−86	53 	
11 	Vityaz Podolsk 	68 	14	6 	8 	40	133	224	−91	48 	
(B) Won Bobrov Division; (T) Won Tarasov Division; (Z) Won Continental Cup
===Eastern Conference===
Pos	Team 	Pld	W 	OTW	OTL	L 	GF 	GA 	GD 	Pts 	
1 	Metallurg Magnitogorsk (C, Y, K)	68 	35	9 	7 	17	212	167	95 	Conference winner and Home advantage in Conference Quarterfinals of Gagarin Cup Playoffs	
2 	Avangard Omsk (H) 	68 	31	12 	6 	19	211	181	92 	Home advantage in Conference Quarterfinals of Gagarin Cup Playoffs 	
3 	Salavat Yulaev Ufa 	68 	36	6 	6 	20	196	143	90 	Home advantage in Conference Quarterfinals of Gagarin Cup Playoffs 	
4 	Ak Bars Kazan (O) 	68 	33	8 	2 	25	175	140	84 	Home advantage in Conference Quarterfinals of Gagarin Cup Playoffs 	
5 	Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg 	68 	26	11 	8 	23	163	157	82 	Advance to Gagarin Cup Playoffs 	
6 	Traktor Chelyabinsk 	68 	27	10 	6 	25	182	167	80 	Advance to Gagarin Cup Playoffs 	
7 	Lada Togliatti 	68 	24	8 	14 	22	165	170	−5 	Advance to Gagarin Cup Playoffs 	78
8 	Amur Khabarovsk 	68 	23	6 	13 	26	159	178	−19	Advance to Gagarin Cup Playoffs 	71
9 	Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk 	68 	20	7 	15 	26	158	200	−42	69 	
10 	Sibir Novosibirsk 	68 	20	8 	11 	29	148	180	−32	67 	
11 	Admiral Vladivostok 	68 	14	7 	12 	35	148	197	−49	54 	
12 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
(C) 2023-24 Gagarin Cup Champions; (H) Won Chernyshev Division; (K) Won Kharlamov Division; (O) Won Opening Cup; (Y) Won Conference
===Continental Cup===
Pos	Team 	Pld	W 	OTW	OTL	L 	GF 	GA 	GD 	Pts 	
1 	Dynamo Moscow (Z) 	68 	31	15 	6 	16	215	160	98 	Continental Cup winner and first overall seed in Gagarin Cup Playoffs	
2 	SKA Saint Petersburg 	68 	40	6 	3 	19	220	139	95 	 	
3 	Metallurg Magnitogorsk (C)	68 	35	9 	7 	17	212	167	95 	2023-24 Gagarin Cup Champions 	
4 	Lokomotiv Yaroslavl 	68 	34	10 	5 	19	174	139	93 	 	
5 	Avangard Omsk 	68 	31	12 	6 	19	211	181	92 	 	
6 	Salavat Yulaev Ufa 	68 	36	6 	6 	20	196	143	90 	 	
7 	Spartak Moscow 	68 	36	4 	8 	20	233	189	88 	 	
8 	Ak Bars Kazan (O) 	68 	33	8 	2 	25	175	140	84 	2023-24 Opening Cup winner 	
9 	Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg	68 	26	11 	8 	23	163	157	82 	 	
10 	Severstal Cherepovets 	68 	30	6 	8 	24	203	185	80 	 	
11 	Traktor Chelyabinsk 	68 	27	10 	6 	25	182	167	80 	 	
12 	Lada Togliatti 	68 	24	8 	14 	22	165	170	−5 	 	78
13 	CSKA Moscow 	68 	30	4 	8 	26	193	166	76 	 	
14 	Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod 	68 	27	7 	7 	27	189	180	75 	 	
15 	Amur Khabarovsk 	68 	23	6 	13 	26	159	178	−19	 	71
16 	Dinamo Minsk 	68 	26	6 	5 	31	180	178	69 	 	
17 	Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk 	68 	20	7 	15 	26	158	200	−42	 	69
18 	Sibir Novosibirsk 	68 	20	8 	11 	29	148	180	−32	 	67
19 	Kunlun Red Star 	68 	15	10 	6 	37	159	222	−63	 	56
20 	Admiral Vladivostok 	68 	14	7 	12 	35	148	197	−49	 	54
21 	HC Sochi 	68 	19	4 	7 	38	168	254	−86	 	53
22 	Barys Astana 	68 	12	9 	8 	39	137	205	−68	 	50
23 	Vityaz Podolsk 	68 	14	6 	8 	40	133	224	−91	 	48
(C) 2023-24 Gagarin Cup Champions; (O) Won Opening Cup; (Z) Won 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 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
==References==
Category:2024 in ice hockey