KHL teams signed several players from the NHL, including Jaromír Jágr, Alexander Radulov, Ray Emery,[2] Sergei Brylin, Ladislav Nagy, Jozef Stümpel, Marcel Hossa, Ben Clymer, Alexei Zhitnik, Bryan Berard and Chris Simon.

Avangard Omsk owner Roman Abramovich has promised to continue financial support so long as the team maintains good results.

Cuts will be made to non-salary expenditures, such as pre-game activity, training camps, and elimination of pre-season tournaments.

On October 13, 2008 during a match between Avangard Omsk and Vityaz Chekhov, forward Alexei Cherepanov died due to a heart condition.

On December 29, 2008, Russian investigators revealed that he suffered from myocarditis, a condition where not enough blood gets to the heart, and that he should not have been playing professional hockey.

[6] Official sources have stated the banned substance taken was nikethamide, a stimulant, and that it had been taken 3 hours prior to the game in which he died.