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Kontinental Hockey League

Kontinental Hockey League
Current season, competition or edition:
Current sports event2016–17 KHL season
KHL logo shield 2016.svg
Formerly Russian Superleague
Sport Ice hockey
Founded 2008
President Dmitry Chernyshenko
Motto Хоккей – наша игра! Khokkey – nasha igra! Jääkiekko on meidän peli! (Hockey is our game!)
No. of teams 29
Country  Belarus (1 team)
 China (1 team)
 Croatia (1 team)
 Finland (1 team)
 Kazakhstan (1 team)
 Latvia (1 team)
 Russia (22 teams)
 Slovakia (1 team)
Most recent
champion(s)
Metallurg Magnitogorsk (2nd title)
Most titles Ak Bars Kazan (2)
Metallurg Magnitogorsk (2)
Dynamo Moscow (2)
TV partner(s)
Related
competitions
Supreme Hockey League (VHL)
Hockey Premier League (HPL) (From 16/17)
Junior Hockey League (MHL)
Official website en.KHL.ru

The Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) (Russian: Континентальная хоккейная лига (КХЛ), Kontinental'naya hokkeynaya liga) is an international professional ice hockey league founded in 2008. It comprises 29 member clubs based in Belarus, China, Croatia, Finland, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Russia, and Slovakia and it is planned to expand to more countries. It is widely considered to be the premier professional ice hockey league in Europe and Asia, and second in the world behind the NHL.

The Gagarin Cup is awarded annually to the league playoff champion at the end of each season. The title of Champion of Russia is given to the highest ranked Russian team.

The league formed from the Russian Superleague (RSL) and the champion of the 2007–08 season of the second division, with 24 teams: 21 from Russia and one each from Belarus, Latvia, and Kazakhstan. The teams were divided into four divisions, based on the performance in previous seasons.

The start of the fourth season was overshadowed by the Yaroslavl air disaster on 7 September 2011 in which almost all members of the team Lokomotiv Yaroslavl lost their lives shortly after take-off for their flight to their season opening game in Minsk. The Opening Cup game in Ufa, which was already under way when news of the disaster arrived, was suspended. In memory of the disaster, 7 September remains a day of mourning on which no KHL regular season games are held.


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Wikipedia

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