The KHL’s Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod will seek a new head coach for the 2025-26 season. Earlier this morning, the organization announced they had mutually terminated their agreement with NHL Hall of Famer Igor Larionov as the team’s head coach.
Larionov had a positive run in his first role as a head coach in the KHL. Hired before the 2022-23 season, he’ll end his tenure behind the bench with a 107-75-22 record in 204 contests, making it as far as the Western Conference semifinals in his first year at the helm.
His exploits in the NHL are well-known. Larionov and former teammate, Viacheslav Fetisov, were outspoken critics of the Soviet Union’s policies regarding the defection of athletes in the 1980s, and wouldn’t be allowed to play in the NHL until the 1989-90 season despite being drafted by the Vancouver Canucks in the 1985 NHL Draft.
After 921 games and 644 points, “the Professor” finished his NHL career at 43 years old after the 2003-04 season. He was an integral part of the famous “Russian Five” line deployed by the Detroit Red Wings and helped Detroit win three Stanley Cups in 1997, 1998, and 2002.
Other international notes:
- Former second-round pick of the Pittsburgh Penguins, Filip Hållander, could return to the team for the 2025-26 season. After an impressive season with the AHL’s Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in 2022-23, Hållander returned to his native Sweden to join the SHL’s Timrå IK. The organization recently announced that Hållander has departed the team after scoring 26 goals and 53 points in 51 contests, finishing second in the league in scoring.
- In an unconfirmed report from Jennifer Engstrom of Expressen, there is a growing belief that defenseman Victor Söderström will join the Chicago Blackhawks next year. Söderström has reportedly been in dialogue with the Blackhawks since the SHL playoffs started, having been acquired from the Utah Hockey Club in a salary dump trade involving Shea Weber’s contract at the recent trade deadline. Söderström would be a massive addition to Chicago’s blue line, as he recently won the Salming Trophy as the SHL’s top defenseman, scoring nine goals and 37 points in 49 games for Brynäs IF.
If Soderstrom really comes over then the Hawks would suddenly be overflowing with Right Shot D Men where they only really had Jones and Murphy. Hopefully they can move Murphy along if for nothing else a peanuts return and salary dump even if they have to attach a prospect or draft choice to him. Not like they don’t have enough.
Murphy can fetch a decent return come trade deadline. Plus you need veteran presence. Rinzel, Murphy and Soderstrom are the three RHDs in opening lineup until Levshunov’s development in Rockford forces their hand to trade Murphy around TDL.
Not sure how “massive” an addition Soderstrom would be when he couldn’t quite find a starting NHL spot with a young and rebuilding Coyotes franchise. I wish him well though and hope he gets his first real big league opportunity.
yeah, just heard chris peters talking about him today, and he says he has pretty much no chance. good luck to him, I guess, though.