KHL in 2019-2020: teams, schedule, start of the season

The 2019-2020 KHL season starts on September 1, and fans are eagerly awaiting new ice battles. The next draw of the most prestigious trophy on the Eurasian continent has stockpiled a number of intrigues, and the calendar provides for 62 mast for each of the participating teams. Today in the KHL the level of clubs has leveled off, so the games are spectacular, uncompromising and unpredictable. This is no longer a competition of two or three squads: here everyone can beat everyone.

Championship Regulations

The tournament organizers did not begin to change the usual rules, dividing it into two parts: the regular championship and the playoff stage. The beginning of the season is scheduled for September 1, 2019 - it is from this date that the regular season starts, which will end on February 27. The playoff stage (elimination) is scheduled for March 1, and the final series of games between the winners of the Western and Eastern conferences will be held in April 2020. The scoring system has remained unchanged: the winner of the match receives 2 points, the loser - 0. A team that lost in overtime or in a series of shootouts will receive 1 point.

In the playoffs, teams are divided into pairs depending on the places taken at the end of the regular season. The formation of the series takes place on the principle of “the strongest with the weakest”. This means that the squad, which turned out to be after the end of the KHL regular season 2019-2020, will play first with eighth, second with seventh, third with sixth, fourth with fifth. The right of home ice in the first two masts is reserved for the squad, which turned out to be in a higher place during the championship. The series lasts up to four victories of one of the teams.

List of participants

The KHL schedule for the 2019-2020 season has been changed after it became known that the Slovak Slovan will not take part in the tournament from the new draw. The club has long had financial difficulties, which could not be resolved. As a result, the squad from Bratislava will not be able to play in the league in the upcoming season. At the moment, the participants in the 2019-2020 KHL Western Conference are as follows:

The following clubs will compete in the Eastern Conference:

There are constant rumors about the expansion of the KHL, and each time new countries are called, for example, Sweden, Norway, France, Germany. The most daring optimists say the inclusion of one or more hockey clubs from Poland, Uzbekistan, the Baltic states, Ukraine.Nevertheless, while it is obvious that the expansion of geography popularizes only the KHL brand, however, a significant improvement in the quality of the game in the tournament will not follow. A country in which there is no strong domestic championship in ice hockey is unlikely to provide a contender for the Gagarin Cup. In addition, the newcomer will need time to adapt and a number of “concessions” from the league leadership, for example, the absence of a limit on foreign players or an increased salary ceiling for one or two starting seasons.

Contenders for victory

The list of the main contenders for the victory in the KHL season 2019-2020 includes the following squads:

• SKA
• “CSKA”;
• "AK Bars";
• "Vanguard";
• "Locomotive";
• "Metallurgist".

Most experts agree that the listed teams will lead the fight for the Gagarin Cup. Firstly, these teams have an optimal selection of players, experienced coaches, and rich experience in playing in the playoffs. All of these teams have their own farm clubs, which annually provide several promising hockey players for the fourth and third links. In addition to promising newcomers, these squads sign at least two or three star hockey players on the transfer market, which make up the backbone of the top five.

In the Western Conference, not many squads are ready to fight for an honorary trophy. Most of them will have to fight for getting into the eight of the strongest, and then they will find the two most powerful and financially secured league clubs: CSKA and SKA. Special attention deserves the Moscow “CSKA” - the winner of the last season of the KHL. Wards Igor Nikitin unusually easily defeated the Omsk “Vanguard”, winning the final series dry (4: 0). Since the backbone of the team has remained the same, the “army team" probably do not mind repeating last year’s success. This can be prevented by St. Petersburg SKA, which experienced difficulties with teamwork last season. In the upcoming draw Ilya Vorobyov will work with this component, and SKA will again become the main contender for the Gagarin Cup.

In the Eastern Conference, the confrontation will be fierce, because the level of teams is more even. “Metallurg”, “Vanguard”, “Salavat Yulaev”, “AK Bars” - all these clubs can get to the final series. Of particular note is Avtomobilist, who last season issued a record unbeaten run in the regular season. In the playoffs, the wards of Andrei Martemyanov immediately flew from Metallurg, but the necessary experience was gained. In the new draw, the team from Yekaterinburg is ready to aim for higher results.

Thus, while all participants are equal in the KHL standings 2019-2020, the fans have the opportunity to reflect on the upcoming battles and make their prediction about the winner of the tournament. Each hockey expert has his own original opinion on the new rally, but one thing remains clear - from September 1, all sports fans will see another large-scale event in which the best skating and puck masters will meet.

The best goals in the KHL season of 2018-2019 are as follows video:

Read also:

• 2020 World Hockey Championship
• Biathlon World Championship 2019-2020
• Youth Winter Olympics 2020

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