Dynamo Moscow ended a losing run on Sunday by beating SKA 4-3 in overtime. A day earlier Severstal won 4-1 in Kazan. Monday’s KHL list has six games, including Ak Bars against Sochi.
Since opening on 5 September the KHL has played over a hundred games. SKA have their best start in five years, Ak Bars' Kevin Hayes has 7 points in 6 games, and reigning champions Lokomotiv sit outside the top three.
On 5 September at 13:00 Moscow time Yaroslavl’s Lokomotiv host Traktor. The league dropped a standalone Opening Cup: six games on day one, 22 clubs, 68 games each.
NHL rookie camps open from 11 September, main camps on 16–17. Preseason is squeezed into 19–26 September; the 84-game regular season starts on the 29th with Toronto hosting Montreal.
On 25 August 34-year-old Kevin Hayes signed a one-year deal with Ak Bars Kazan. He leaves the NHL with 805 games and 445 points. Victor Hedman separately said he is ready for an 18th season in Tampa.
Paul Shaheen reported Aug 17 that Trevor Gauthier rejected Anaheim’s four-year, $52M deal ($13M AAV). The 41-goal, 69-point winger leaves the Ducks with about $9.07M in cap space.
Rejecting the $52M/four-year deal leaves Anaheim about $9.07M under the cap. Camp is in September and the $13M AAV hole on the wing is open.
After Gauthier’s no, Anaheim circles back to Kreider, Killorn and Vatrano — not 41 goals, but the only way to fill the wing without a $13M AAV.
Chicago open at Vegas on ESPN on September 29 without Connor Bedard, whose return is expected in November. Patrick Kane provides the bridge. The home opener against St. Louis is October 6, and the Düsseldorf Global Series runs December 18-20.
Anaheim has about $9 million in cap space under $104 million, while Cutter Gauthier’s RFA deal is pegged near $14–15 million. Kreider, Killorn and Vatrano are the names before September camp.
Chicago’s training camp is weeks away. Patrick Kane’s September–October jobs, Nazar/Frondell trials, and the metrics that will judge the bridge until Bedard returns.
Blackhawks GM Kyle Davidson detailed why Patrick Kane returned: to boost offense and leadership while Bedard is out — not to stage a nostalgia night.
Patrick Kane’s first media day back in Chicago: Bedard excitement, praise for Nazar, and an October line plan without the franchise centre.
Bedard is rehabbing toward November after shoulder surgery while Kane is back on a 2-year/$16M deal — how Chicago must open the season without its No. 1 centre.
August for the Blackhawks: Patrick Kane is signed in while Connor Bedard remains out until November. Line scenarios, early KPIs and Chicago offense planning before NHL camp.