The

Kontinental Hockey League The Kontinental Hockey League (KHL; ) is an international professional ice hockey league founded in 2008. It comprises member clubs based in Russia (20), Belarus (1), Kazakhstan (1), and China (1) for a total of 23 clubs. It was considered in ...

's (KHL) Tarasov Division was formed in 2008 as part of the league's inauguration. It is one of four

divisions Division may refer to: Mathematics *Division (mathematics), the inverse of multiplication * Division algorithm, a method for computing the result of mathematical division Military *Division (military), a formation typically consisting of 10,000 t ...

and part of the Western Conference since the second season of the KHL when the conferences were established. It is named in honor of

Hockey Hall of Fame The Hockey Hall of Fame () is a museum and hall of fame located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Dedicated to the history of ice hockey, it holds exhibits about players, teams, National Hockey League (NHL) records, memorabilia and National Hockey Le ...

inductee

Anatoli Tarasov Anatoly Vladimirovich Tarasov (; 10 December 1918 – 23 June 1995) was a Russian ice hockey player and coach (sports), coach. Tarasov is considered "the father of Russian ice hockey" and established the Soviet Union national ice hockey team, So ...

, "the father of Russian hockey", who established the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

as "the dominant force in international competition".Encyclopædia Britannica, Article "Anatoly Tarasov"
/ref>

Division lineup

The Tarasov Division currently consists of the following teams: *

CSKA Moscow CSKA Moscow () is a Russian sports club based in Moscow. It was created in 1911 in the Russian Empire on base of OLLS (Skiing Society, founded 1901). Later, during the Soviet Union, Soviet era, it was the central part of the Armed Forces (sports ...

* Dinamo Minsk *

Dynamo Moscow MGO VFSO "Dynamo" (), commonly known as Dynamo Moscow (), is a Russian sports club based in Moscow. Founded by Felix Dzerzhinsky on 18 April 1923, Dynamo Moscow was the first institution created from the All-Union Dynamo Sports Club. Dynamo Mosco ...

* Kunlun Red Star *

Lokomotiv Yaroslavl Hockey Club Lokomotiv (, ), also known as Lokomotiv Yaroslavl, is a professional ice hockey club based in Yaroslavl, Russia. It is a member of the Tarasov Division in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). The name of the team is derived from its ...

Severstal Cherepovets Hockey Club Severstal is a professional ice hockey club based in Cherepovets, Russia. It is a member of the Tarasov Division in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). History Founded in 1956, the club was originally known as Stroitel (Builder) Cher ...

Lineup history

Initial lineup (2008)

In the first KHL season, the division alignment was determined by team strength and the Tarasov division consisted of:

HC MVD HC MVD () was a professional ice hockey club based in Balashikha, Moscow Oblast, Russia. They were members of the Tarasov Division of the Kontinental Hockey League. They are best known for winning the silver medal in the KHL backstopped by all star ...

Khimik Voskresensk Hockey Club Atlant Moscow Oblast (, ) was a Russian professional ice hockey team based in Mytishchi, Moscow Oblast. They were members of the Bobrov Division of the Kontinental Hockey League in the 2014–15 KHL season, 2014–15 season, but have ...

Metallurg Magnitogorsk Metallurg Magnitogorsk () is a professional ice hockey club based in Magnitogorsk, Russia. It is a member of the Kharlamov Division in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). The club also competed in the Champions Hockey League (2008–09), Champion ...

Traktor Chelyabinsk Traktor Chelyabinsk, also known as Traktor, or HC Traktor Chelyabinsk, () is a professional ice hockey club based in Chelyabinsk, Russia. It is a member of the Kharlamov Division in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). From 1967 to 2009, the te ...

and

SKA Saint Petersburg Hockey Club SKA (), often referred to as SKA Saint Petersburg and literally as the Sports Club of the Army, is a professional ice hockey club based in Saint Petersburg, Russia. It is a member of the Bobrov Division in the Kontinental Hockey Le ...

Re-alignment in 2009

With the geographical alignment of the divisions for the 2009–10 season, the composition of the Tarasov division was completely changed and only

remained in the division. It was joined by two other teams from the Moscow region,

Atlant Moscow Oblast Hockey Club Atlant Moscow Oblast (, ) was a Russian professional ice hockey team based in Mytishchi, Moscow Oblast. They were members of the Bobrov Division of the Kontinental Hockey League in the 2014–15 season, but have not been active si ...

and

Vityaz Chekhov Hockey Club Vityaz Moscow Region () is a professional ice hockey club based in Balashikha, Russia. It is a member of the Bobrov Division in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). In the first few seasons of the KHL, the team was widely known for pl ...

, as well as by

Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod () is a professional ice hockey club in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia. It is a member of the Bobrov Division in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). The team's home arena is Trade Union Sport Palace. The team used to play it ...

and

Minsk replaces HC MVD (2010)

First, HC Budivelnyk from

Kyiv Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

were admitted to the league in 2010 to replace

after their merger with

. However, the team later dropped out of the league before the start of the season and instead Dinamo Minsk joined the division from the Bobrov Division.

Lokomotiv Yaroslavl suspension (2011)

Because of the

2011 Lokomotiv Yaroslavl plane crash Eleven or 11 may refer to: *11 (number) * One of the years 11 BC, AD 11, 1911, 2011 Literature * ''Eleven'' (novel), a 2006 novel by British author David Llewellyn *''Eleven'', a 1970 collection of short stories by Patricia Highsmith *''Eleve ...

that killed nearly the entire roster of

, the team management decided to suspend operations for the 2011–12 season, temporarily reducing the Tarasov division to five teams. Lokomotiv returned for the 2012–13 season.

2012 Expansion

With the addition of two new teams to the

Bobrov Division The KHL's Bobrov Division was formed in 2008 as part of the league's inauguration and is part of the Western conference since the second season of KHL when the conferences were established. It is one of 4 divisions. It is named in honor of Vsev ...

for the 2012–13 season, some re-alignments among the Western conference divisions became necessary:

were moved to Bobrov, while two Moscow teams, Spartak and CSKA were moved to Tarasov. This increased the Tarasov division to seven teams.

2013 Expansion and re-alignment

With the addition of two new teams to the league in the 2013–14 season, new re-alignments become necessary, therefore

was moved to the

Kharlamov Division The KHL's Kharlamov Division was formed in 2008 as part of the league's inauguration. It is one of four divisions and part of the Eastern Conference since the second season of the KHL when the conferences were established. It is named in honor of ...

and

and Dinamo Minsk left for the

. In exchange,

HC Vityaz Hockey Club Vityaz Moscow Region () is a professional ice hockey club based in Balashikha, Russia. It is a member of the Bobrov Division in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). In the first few seasons of the KHL, the team was widely known for pl ...

HC Donbass Hockey Club Donbass (; ''Romanization of Ukrainian, tr. Hokeinyi Klub Donbas'') is a Ukraine, Ukrainian professional ice hockey team based in Druzhkivka, that played in the Ukrainian Hockey League and briefly the KHL. HC Donbass is a six time Ukr ...

and

were moved from Bobrov to Tarasov Division.

2014 changes

had to withdraw prior to the 2014–15 season because of the political instability in Ukraine, and

Spartak Moscow Spartak Moscow may refer to the following teams based or formerly based in Moscow, Russia: * FC Spartak Moscow, an association football club * HC Spartak Moscow, a professional ice hockey team * Spartak GM Moscow, a semi-professional rugby club * ...

had to leave for financial reasons. Meanwhile,

HC Sochi Hockey Club Sochi () is a professional ice hockey club based in Sochi, Russia. It is a member of the Bobrov Division in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). The club joined the KHL in the 2014–15 KHL season, 2014–15 season. History On May 2 ...

joined the league as a new team and

moved back from the Eastern Conference. Furthermore,

and

swapped divisions.

2018 changes

Slovan Bratislava and Dinamo Minsk joins from

to Tarasov Division, buth

and

leaves to

, buth

returns to

2019 Slovan Bratislava leaves

returns to Tarasov Division from

but Slovan Bratislava leaves Tarasov Division, and also from KHL, because of their low score and bad playing in KHL, but they return to

Slovak Extraliga The Slovak Extraliga, known as the Tipsport liga since the 2025–26 season for sponsorship reasons, is the highest-level ice hockey league in Slovakia. From 2018–19 to 2020–21, the league included one or two teams from Hungary. Teams fro ...

2020 changes

Dinamo Riga Dinamo Riga () is a professional ice hockey team based in Riga, Latvia. It most recently was a member of the Latvian Hockey Higher League. The club is affiliated with HK Zemgale/LBTU. The club was re-founded on 7 April 2008 as a successor of a D ...

and

joins to Tarasov Division from

, buth

Sochi Sochi ( rus, Сочи, p=ˈsotɕɪ, a=Ru-Сочи.ogg, from – ''seaside'') is the largest Resort town, resort city in Russia. The city is situated on the Sochi (river), Sochi River, along the Black Sea in the North Caucasus of Souther ...

and Vityaz Podolsk leaves to

, buth

Returns again to

2021 Expansion

Returns to Tarasov Division from

Division winners

* 2024:

(98 points) * 2023:

(94 points) * 2022:

(64 points) * 2021:

(91 points – Continental Cup winner) * 2020:

(94 points – Continental Cup winner) * 2019:

(106 points – Continental Cup winner) * 2018:

(124 points) * 2017:

(137 points – Continental Cup winner) * 2016:

(127 points – Continental Cup winner) * 2015:

(139 points – Continental Cup winner) * 2014:

(115 points – Continental Cup winner) * 2013:

(96 points) * 2012:

(91 points) * 2011:

(108 points) * 2010:

(102 points) * 2009:

(106 points)

Gagarin Cup winners produced

*2019:

*2022:

References

{{Kontinental Hockey League, state=collapsed Kontinental Hockey League divisions