MOSCOW, December 17 (R-Sport) – KHL teams want to extend the regular ice-hockey season to 60 games, league vice-president Vladimir Shalaev said Tuesday.
The move would add six games to the competition but would still leave the league well behind the NHL in North America, where the regular season is 82 games.
“We are talking about 60 games, as the discussion is based around this figure,” Shalaev said after a meeting of club directors.
“All teams want to play approximately this many games in a regular season. None of the teams said that there should be fewer games.”
The KHL currently brings together 28 clubs from Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, Croatia, Latvia, Czech Republic and Slovak Republic. It had a 56-game season during its first two years, which was later cut to 54.
Shalaev said that the league would discuss the issue with the Russian Hockey Federation after February's Winter Olympics in Sochi.
“First of all, we need to understand how many teams will play next season. The structure is more or less clear: there will be conferences and divisions.” he said.
Teams could also face extra games if they join the relaunched version of the European Champions Hockey League, but the KHL has yet to reach an agreement to join the competition.
On Sunday, KHL president Alexander Medvedev said four more teams could join the KHL for next season, taking the total to 32.
Finnish team Jokerit has already been confirmed, while Russia's Lada Tolyatti is due to return to the KHL, which it left in 2009. A new club is set to be established in Sochi.
