Slava Kozlov signs with CSKA Moscow (Photo © Getty Images)

Vyacheslav Kozlov was officially signed today to a 1 year contract by CSKA Moscow.

The former component of the famous Russian Five joined the Red Army a couple of days ago and will depart with the team for their upcoming away trip. Kozlov will wear the #72 jersey.

Vyacheslav Kozlov was Stanley Cup Champion in 1997 and 1998 with the Detroit Red Wings. Kozlov played a total of 1182 NHL games, with 853 points.

Kozlov: “I’m glad to be back in the team which is almost my home club, and it’s the greatest team in Russia. I’ll do all I can to help the team fighting for the Gagarin Cup. I think I am in good shape and I’ll be able to help my team mates very soon. Recently I underwent the physical examinations and the doctors were satisfied about my shape. I hope I’ll be able to play my first game with my new team on Friday against Yugra.”

It was reported that also Spartak Moscow offered Kozlov a contract, but Slava preferred the Red Army, with whom he played in 1991-92 and 1994-95.

Sergei Gaiduchenko traded to CSKA Moscow (Photo © khl.ru)

Florida Panthers’ prospect Sergei Gaiduchenko has been traded to CSKA Moscow prior the 2010 KHL Entry Draft in exchange of a first round pick.

Gaiduchenko, 21, spent the last year with Lokomotiv Yaroslavl, playing 20 regular season games as back up of Georgi Gelashvili. His contract run out on Aprl 30st and wasn’t renewed by Lokomotiv, thus making him a RFA. As he’s going to join CSKA, most likely he won’t transfer to the Panthers this summer.

Read also:
– Sergei Gaiduchenko: “You can’t judge me by one game only”
– Sergei Gaiduchenko: I have a chance to move on as Florida drafted me

Maxim Goncharov signs with Phoenix (Photo © Sportbox.ru)

20-years-old, Russian defenseman Maxim Goncharov signed an Entry Level Contract with the Phoenix Coyotes of the NHL. His contract with CSKA Moscow run out on April 30th.

Maxim Goncharov is an offensive defenseman with a great shot and an excellent technique. During this season he scored four goals and a career high seventeen points in 51 KHL regular season games, finished +5. In the 2008-09 campaign Goncharov amassed seven goals and as many assists.

In his junior career he won a gold medal in 2007 U18 World Junior Championship in Finland and captured a silver medal in the 2009 WJC, where he scored five goals in seven games, the tournament’s best result for a blue liner.

Nikita Filatov: “I am determined to get back to the NHL” (Photo © sportbox.ru)

During an interview with popular Russian website Sovietskiy Sport Nikita Filatov, currently playing for CSKA and who recently got a call from Russian national team, talked about his future, about NHL players’ participation to the Olympics and about the upcoming season.

Nikita Filatov: “I am determined to return to the NHL next year. Surely the salaries are better in the KHL, but overseas the level of play is higher. I’ll try to make the first team in the NHL. And I’ll try getting on the roster for the World Championships too.

I don’t really think that NHL players won’t come to Sochi for the 2014 Olympic Games. The best players in the world want to play there. And no one can force them out.”

Nikita Filatov knocked down by Darcy Verot (Photo © boeboda.ru)

NHL Blue Jackets forward Nikita Filatov, playing on a loan basis for CSKA of the KHL, was knocked down by Darcy Verot of Vityaz Chekhov in Monday’s game between Vityaz and CSKA.

After the famous bench-clearing fight Vityaz, a team having an enormous for the KHL amount of tough guys, didn’t fight at all. There were rumors that players were told not to fight in order to calm down fans. The KHL even warned Vityaz to exclude the team from the league in case of another cancelled game.

The peace didn’t last long as on Monday Darcy Verot knocked down youngster Nikita Filatov with a cheap shot to the head and got a game misconduct.

Here is the video of Verot’s cheap shot on Filatov:

Sergei Andronov traded to CSKA Moscow (Photo © RussianProspects.com)

20 years old Sergei Andronov has been traded from financially troubled Lada Togliatti to CSKA Moscow. Andronov, who has under his belt a golden medal from the U18 WJC and a silver medal from the U20 WJC, has been drafted by the St. Louis Blues in the third round of the 2009 NHL Entry Draft, with the 78th overall pick. This is what he declared to Komsomolskaya Pravda:

Andronov: “It’s sad to leave Togliatti, I spent here the last six years and here I became a pro. Unfortunately nowadays it looks like Lada’s management don’t care about the team. We don’t recieve a salary for three months, and they always promise that they are going to refund our debts. And thus I decided for myself, I don’t believe to promises anymore. I plan to sign a contract with CSKA Moscow, I’m very familiar with their head coach, Sergei Nemchinov, I played under him in the National Junior Team. In my new team I want to get more playing time.”

The same Nemchinov yesterday declared to Sovietskiy Sport:

Nemchinov: “Andronov is an excellent forward. I enjoyed working with him during last year’s World Junior Championships.”

Vyacheslav Fetisov: “I think that one game is enough” (Photo © Sportbox.ru)

Vyacheslav Fetisov‘s sensational comeback didn’t save CSKA from a home defeat against SKA St. Petersburg in a game that saw Maxim Sushinsky score his 300th goal. RussianHockeyFans offers you a translation of what Fetisov said after the game to the Russian TV channel “Sport”.

“I feel really good. It was a bit sentimental, starting with the hymn and going on. I’m a happy man today. I’d like to thank all the fans that attended the game, all the persons and the guys that I played with today. This was an unforgettable game for me. Thank you all!

The game was good, the guys showed a good character in the third period, we came a little short… I wish I could drop about 15 years, to be of more help to the team. The feeling of being in the dressing room with the guys, sharing the same bench – you can’t reproduce it in regular life outside of hockey. I am thankful for having had this chance.
The most important thing we did today was draw attention of people to hockey. What we did today was positive for the image of Russian hockey and Russia itself. There are good people, there is interest for the game, and all this can only grow in the years to come.

I think that one game is enough. There are good players and a good coach and CSKA will be again the CSKA we all know”.

51-year-old Vyacheslav Fetisov to play for CSKA in KHL (Photo © khl.ru)

Yes, it’s not a joke. CSKA Moscow is having problems as a lot of it’s players are injured. Yesterday, after the game against Atlant CSKA’s head coach Sergei Nemchinov said that he had offered CSKA president Vyacheslav Fetisov to help the team. They gave Fetisov one day to think it over and apparently he agreed.

This is what the team’s press attache Natalia Masyakina had to say to RIA Novosti (in Russian):

Fetisov agreed to play for CSKA. Now we are working on the documents and if there are no problems he will be able to play on Friday against SKA. Nothing can be said about the length of his contract at this moment.

News is also confirmed on the official KHL site (in Russian).

CSKA has provided all required documents and Fetisov is able to play in the KHL. Fetisov has signed a one-year contract and is able to play on December 11 against SKA St. Petersburg.

Nikita Filatov: “I might stay in KHL for one more year” (Photo © khl.ru)

Nikita Filatov, who was loaned to CSKA Moscow by the Columbus Blue Jackets, keeps on doing great in the KHL. He played 4 games so far and amassed 8 points, scoring 4 goals and giving 4 assists. Filatov also managed to set a new KHL record, scoring 3 game-winning goals in 3 matches in a row.

RussianHockeyFans.com offers you a translation of his interview published by Sovetskiy Sport, which he gave after yesterday’s game against Spartak.

– One can see that now you are playing as if you had wings on your back. Is it because you don’t have to focus so much on defence in CSKA as you had to in Columbus?
– Yes, it is. But I wouldn’t say that I spend all my time in the offensive zone, I don’t forget about the defence too. The defence was the only thing I had been thinking about in the NHL for 1.5 years…

– But nevertheless you intend to return to the NHL next year. What can CSKA do to make you stay?
– The one thing I’m not thinking about right now is where I will spend next year. But I wouldn’t exclude the possibility of staying in CSKA.

A few days before Filatov wrote in his conference on allhockey.ru, answering if there was a chance of him staying in Russia after this season:

I highly doubt it. But Ken Hitchkok can really help it.

Coyotes’ Viktor Tikhonov follows Filatov’s route, leaves NHL for KHL (Photo © khl.ru)

Phoenix Coyotes’ Viktor Tikhonov, who spent most of the season with their AHL affiliates, the San Antonio Rampage, is back in Moscow, as seen on the photo, where he’s thought to be joining Filatov’s CSKA.

“My son has been sent to the KHL, he has already landed in Moscow and he’s ready to play for CSKA” – said Tikhonov’s father, Vasily Tikhonov, to Sovetsky Sport. “The only problem is that the league is investigating where his rights belong to. He left the NHL playing for Severstal Cherepovets, but that was two years ago”.

If his rights will be cleared property of the Cherepovets team CSKA will have to give some compensation to them, most likely being it a couple of picks for the next KHL draft.

The 21 years old forward is thus going to join Filatov’s team, but it’s unlikely that the two will play together as Filatov found excellent chemistry iced with veteran Albert Leschev and Dmitry Monya.

Tikhonov has been spotted on the stands of the local derby between Spartak and CSKA, watching at the match side-to-side with his grandfather Viktor Tikhonov, legendary coach of the Soviet National Team when it was on the top of the world.

Even if CSKA hasn’t officially declared to have signed the young, dynamic forward, it’s believed that he will start playing for the Red Army in the next few days, giving another needed boos to the team’s attack as they were struggling since the start after changing a lot of players and appointing a new head coach, Sergei Nemchinov, this summer.