February 7, 2022

The Kontinental Hockey League decided not to finish the regular season, canceling all the remaining matches until its end. The position of the teams in the standings, according to the official statement of the League, will be determined by “the percentage of points scored from the maximum possible number.”

The Avtomobilist hockey club, which fought for the playoffs and was only one victory away from the top eight in the East in terms of lost points, was left out of the Gagarin Cup. 

It should be noted that according to the tournament regulations approved by the League, the teams initially had to play 56 matches, while Yekaterinburg residents played only 45 matches in the 2021/22 season, and only one match in the calendar year 2022. Thus, almost a quarter of the regular season was still ahead for our team and, as a result, remained unplayed. 

In these matches, on a sporting basis, it was supposed to be decided which teams deserve to get into the playoffs and continue the fight for the Gagarin Cup. Those who have not lost their chances of getting into the Gagarin Cup at the time the regular season was stopped, as well as all the teams that have not yet guaranteed themselves a place in the conference eights.

This proposal was announced by the Avtomobilist hockey club at an online meeting of the KHL leadership with the leaders of all clubs on January 11, 2022, but after a month it was eventually ignored.

With the regular season stopped, the “play-in” in the form of face-to-face confrontation between contenders for places in the Gagarin Cup could become the only truly sporting way to find out the level of teams. 

This is especially important, given the fact that the challenger teams had completely different calendars with a completely different number of matches with one or another opponent. 

For example, Neftekhimik, also fighting for the playoffs, played 10 of its matches (out of 49) against three clubs that occupy the last three places in the current championship (4 each with Kunlun Red Star and Admiral, 2 with ” Dinamo “(Riga). While our club had played only 4 matches with these rivals by the time the championship was stopped. How, under such conditions, can the “percentage of points scored” be used as a decisive criterion?

Avtomobilist HC considers the decision to stop the KHL regular season unfair, contrary to the sports principle, infringing on the interests of the teams participating in the tournament, which made great efforts to achieve the goal of getting into the playoffs. 

This decision, in addition to being unsportsmanlike, causes great damage to the commercial interests of all league clubs without exception – depriving them of the opportunity to fully fulfill their obligations to fans and business partners who invest heavily in the development of domestic hockey.

On the days of the Winter Olympic Games, the decision to cancel such a significant part of the KHL regular championship evokes an analogy, as if in the course of a biathlon or ski relay, the organizing committee would decide to cancel the decisive fourth stage and sum up the results of the three past ones. Is there such a solution anywhere? Rhetorical question…

We are aware that for various reasons the Avtomobilist team could not show the level of hockey that they are obliged to demonstrate with the existing selection of players and enthusiastic support from the fans. 

The management, players and coaches of Avtomobilist feel guilty for the 21/22 season and ask for forgiveness from the fans – we will try to do everything possible so that such results do not happen again in the future. We take seriously the responsibility that each of us has to all the people who care about the fate of our team. And we want this responsibility to be understood by the organizers of the competitions, who make crucial decisions. As a result, the current season in the history of our club remains unfinished.

Source: khl.ru