| Conference | Western Conference |
|---|---|
| League | Kontinental Hockey League |
| Sport | Ice hockey |
| First season | 2008–09 |
| No. of teams | 6 |
| Most recent champion(s) | CSKA Moscow (11th title) |
| Most titles | CSKA Moscow (11 titles) |
TheKontinental Hockey League's (KHL)Tarasov Division was formed in 2008 as part of the league's inauguration. It is one of fourdivisions and part of the Western Conference since thesecond season of the KHL when the conferences were established. It is named in honor ofHockey Hall of Fame inducteeAnatoli Tarasov, "the father of Russian hockey", who established theSoviet Union as "the dominant force in international competition".[1]
The Tarasov Division currently consists of the following teams:
In thefirst KHL season, the division alignment was determined by team strength and the Tarasov division consisted of:CSKA Moscow,HC MVD,Khimik Voskresensk,Metallurg Magnitogorsk,Traktor Chelyabinsk andSKA Saint Petersburg.
With the geographical alignment of the divisions for the2009–10 season, the composition of the Tarasov division was completely changed and onlyHC MVD remained in the division. It was joined by two other teams from the Moscow region,Atlant Moscow Oblast andVityaz Chekhov, as well as byLokomotiv Yaroslavl,Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod andSeverstal Cherepovets.
First,HC Budivelnyk fromKyiv,Ukraine were admitted to the league in 2010 to replaceHC MVD after their merger withDynamo Moscow. However, the team later dropped out of the league before the start of the season and insteadDinamo Minsk joined the division from the Bobrov Division.
Because of the2011 Lokomotiv Yaroslavl plane crash that killed nearly the entire roster ofLokomotiv Yaroslavl, the team management decided to suspend operations for the 2011–12 season, temporarily reducing the Tarasov division to five teams. Lokomotiv returned for the2012–13 season.
With the addition of two new teams to theBobrov Division for the2012–13 season, some re-alignments among the Western conference divisions became necessary:Vityaz Chekhov were moved to Bobrov, while two Moscow teams,Spartak andCSKA were moved to Tarasov. This increased the Tarasov division to seven teams.
With the addition of two new teams to the league in the2013–14 season, new re-alignments become necessary, thereforeTorpedo Nizhny Novgorod was moved to theKharlamov Division andCSKA Moscow andDinamo Minsk left for theBobrov Division. In exchange,HC Vityaz,HC Donbass andDynamo Moscow were moved from Bobrov to Tarasov Division.
HC Donbass had to withdraw prior to the2014–15 season because of thepolitical instability in Ukraine, andSpartak Moscow had to leave for financial reasons. Meanwhile,HC Sochi joined the league as a new team andTorpedo Nizhny Novgorod moved back from the Eastern Conference. Furthermore,CSKA Moscow andAtlant Moscow Oblast swapped divisions.
Slovan Bratislava andDinamo Minsk joins fromBobrov Division to Tarasov Division, buthDynamo Moscow andSeverstal Cherepovets leaves toBobrov Division, buthTorpedo Nizhny Novgorod returns toKharlamov Division.
Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod returns to Tarasov Division fromKharlamov Division butSlovan Bratislava leaves Tarasov Division, and also from KHL, because of their low score and bad playing in KHL, but they return toSlovak Extraliga.
Dinamo Riga andDynamo Moscow joins to Tarasov Division fromBobrov Division, buthSochi andVityaz Podolsk leaves toBobrov Division, buthTorpedo Nizhny Novgorod Returns again toKharlamov Division.
Severstal Cherepovets Returns to Tarasov Division fromBobrov Division
Dynamo Moscow (98 points)CSKA Moscow (94 points)Dynamo Moscow (64 points)CSKA Moscow (91 points –Continental Cup winner)CSKA Moscow (94 points – Continental Cup winner)CSKA Moscow (106 points – Continental Cup winner)CSKA Moscow (124 points)CSKA Moscow (137 points – Continental Cup winner)CSKA Moscow (127 points – Continental Cup winner)CSKA Moscow (139 points – Continental Cup winner)Dynamo Moscow (115 points – Continental Cup winner)CSKA Moscow (96 points)Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod (91 points)Lokomotiv Yaroslavl (108 points)HC MVD (102 points)CSKA Moscow (106 points)CSKA MoscowCSKA Moscow
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