What happens behind the scenes of the KHL

On Friday, December 8, at 15:00 there will be a live broadcast from the MK press center, dedicated to the first half of the new hockey season in Russia.

A distance of just over four months, a fast, branded train called the 16th season of the regular championship of the Kontinental Hockey League, flew by simply quickly and without any stops. The teams played on a crazy schedule, every other day, and only on Thursday they finally had the long-awaited twelve-day break associated with the All-Star Game and the Channel One Cup.

The players have the opportunity to take a breath, improve their conditioning, and we, those who cover the events of the KHL, have time at a calm pace, as they say, “with feeling, sense and arrangement,” to sum up the interim results of the first part of this season, which, Indeed, this year is special compared to previous ones.

The main news of recent days is the return of Ilya Kovalchuk to Spartak, where he is a student. What does this give to the club, the league, the fans? The arrival of a 40-year-old eminent and skilled player really makes the red and white the main favorite to win the first Gagarin Cup in the club’s history, or is this just a smart marketing ploy by the club’s management?

How natural is the leadership of Spartak and Dynamo in the West? Or, after SKA finally got this notorious “system” working, which the team’s coach Roman Rotenberg talked about so much and persistently at the beginning of the season, will the St. Petersburg club be able to throw the capital’s clubs off the top of the standings? What can CSKA fans hope for this season – will the team still compete for the third Gagarin Cup or has the capital’s army team’s championship window closed this season?

In the East there is also dual power. “Magnitka” and “Avangard” have noticeably broken away from their pursuers and will compete for the Eastern Conference title between themselves? Or will the record favorite of the entire season, Ak Bars, which ran into time trouble in November, still pose serious competition to these clubs? How long will Lada, the actual KHL debutant, remain in the leading group?

What is the reason for David Nemirovsky’s resignation at Sibir? Will Sergei Krivokrasov be able to improve the game of this team in the second half of the championship? Which of the bottom teams in the East is capable of making a breakthrough after the break and getting into the playoffs – Amur, Neftekhimik or Admiral?

Let’s talk about the main Russian events in the NHL. What’s going on with Alexander Ovechkin? Has the uninterrupted head production machine stopped working? Time is inexorable and yet has the upper hand over our magnificent hockey player, who turned 38 years old? Are Nikita Kucherov and Artemy Panarin really the best hockey players on the planet right now?

These and other questions will be answered live by MK’s guest, the famous domestic hockey specialist, Match TV expert Leonid Vladlenovich Weisfeld.