A novel with a sequel: will Rotenberg remain the head coach of SKA

The situation around SKA head coach Roman Rotenberg is one of the main intrigues of this spring in the KHL. A month ago, there was a popular version in the media that he would be dismissed if the team was eliminated in the first round of the playoffs. However, now, according to Sport-Express, the club's management intends to keep the 44-year-old specialist in his current position. At the same time, the team will be significantly updated. Many are also waiting for a change of Rotenberg's assistants.

Departure and consequences

On April 6, SKA crashed out of the Gagarin Cup, losing the sixth match of the series to Dynamo Moscow with a score of 2:5. The overall score of the series was 2:4, and the St. Petersburg team went on vacation. As expected, this intensified discussions about the fate of her head coach. For many years, the Army team has been one of the richest clubs in the KHL and can afford to assemble the strongest squad. At the same time, they have not been able to win the Gagarin Cup since 2017.

Roman Rotenberg has worked at SKA in various managerial positions since 2012, directly participating in the recruitment of the team and the appointment of the head coach. In many ways, thanks to him, the club won a big trophy for the first time in its history — the Gagarin Cup in 2015. Two seasons later, he repeated the success. But in the future, due to constant changes in the squad and coaching leapfrog, he consistently crashed out in the semifinals of the playoffs.

In January 2022, Rotenberg became the head coach of SKA, replacing Valery Bragin. Four months later, his team lost the semifinals to CSKA Moscow only in the last, seventh match (3:4). A year later, history repeated itself with the same CSKA, and also in the semifinals. Then the results began to deteriorate: the relegation in the second round (quarterfinals) from Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg in 2024 and the recent defeat in the first round from Dynamo. This season was also unsuccessful because SKA became only the seventh in the regular season. Whereas this tournament was won by Rotenberg in his first full season as head coach.

The meeting of the SKA Board of Directors was supposed to be held on April 18. But then its chairman, Alexander Medvedev, announced the postponement to May 28.

"It has been decided to postpone the date of the SKA Board of Directors meeting to May 28 after the possible seventh match of the Gagarin Cup final," Medvedev told the Match TV website. — This decision will allow the members of the board of directors to use the analysis and impressions of all the teams and matches in the Gagarin Cup playoffs, as well as the upcoming games of the Russian national team.

According to Izvestia, the postponement of the meeting significantly increased Rotenberg's chances of retaining his post. This is also due to the fact that SKA teams continue to compete in two other leagues, the All—Russian Hockey League (VHL) and the Youth Hockey League (MHL), which are also overseen by Roman Borisovich. The SKA-Neva Army farm club may be eliminated this week in the second round of the playoffs from Khimik Voskresensk, but the SKA-1946 youth team looks like the favorite in the fight for the Kharlamov Cup. And this success can make up for the bitterness of the defeat of the foundation in the KHL, as it was last spring, when the MHL playoffs remained with the Petersburgers.

In addition, Medvedev's emphasis on a possible seventh match of the finals leads a number of analysts to the opinion that, in the event of a victory in the season or an exit to the decisive series of Dynamo Moscow, this may look like an explanation for the relegation in the first round due to the strength of the opponent. However, so far the blue and white have lost 0:2 to Ak Bars Kazan in the second round.

— If you change the head coach of SKA, you always need to be clear about who, — Evgeny Artyukhin, a former SKA and Russian national team striker, shared his opinion with Izvestia. — If we are discussing whether to keep Roman Borisovich on the board of directors or not, then we need to know the candidate for his place and build on it. If, figuratively speaking, you change the "awl to soap", then what's the point? We have before our eyes a typical example of CSKA, which was eliminated in the first round a year ago, replaced the head coach, and rejuvenated the squad. And what is the result? Zero — the same relegation in the first round. Moreover, the failure there was not only at the level of the main team, but also of the entire vertical: the Red Army youth team was also eliminated in the first round of the MHL playoffs, the Zvezda farm club was eliminated in the first round of the VHL playoffs. There are a lot of questions about breeding and the work of managers. And also, in the case of Roman Borisovich, it is necessary to proceed from how appropriate certain changes are. You just need to see who can take his place and think about whether this will lead to improvements.

According to the former head coach of the Russian national team, Vladimir Krikunov, SKA should not rush to reshuffle the head of the team. And Rotenberg's contract with the club is valid until 2028.

"SKA is a very vibrant team with its own style of play and a lot of talented players, including many interesting young people who were invited to the club under Rotenberg and reached the KHL," Krikunov told Izvestia. — The guys often come across inexperienced, so it's not possible to give results right away. And as soon as they reach a high level, they immediately go to the NHL, because their class becomes obvious overseas. I am sure that next season interesting young people will also gather in St. Petersburg. But if they have guys with the right experience next to them, and the squad stabilizes, then this can bring the SKA trophy with Rotenberg at the head.

Staff turnover

Immediately after the relegation from the playoffs, SKA lost a number of its key players. The contract with the main star of this season's team, Evgeny Kuznetsov, who came from the NHL last summer, was terminated. Key defender Alexander Nikishin, the main young star Ivan Demidov and one of the key strikers Arseniy Hrytsyuk are going overseas. The contract with the leading power forward Zakhar Bardakov has not yet been extended. SKA will have to rebuild the team almost anew.

— All the hockey players who leave SKA are already ripe for the NHL, and now is the right time to go there, — said Evgeny Artyukhin. — Of course, there is no replacement for them at the moment. There are talented young people in St. Petersburg who can potentially play in the future. But here and now there are no players of such a level and with such a core as the departed ones on the market. In this regard, SKA will be a bit difficult.

It is worth noting that almost every season under Rotenberg, the key players in SKA change. In the 2022/23 season, Dmitry Yashkin and Damir Zhafyarov, who left the club at the end of the playoffs, performed leadership functions. In the 2023/24 season, Sergey Tolchinsky and Arseniy Gritsyuk, who transferred from Omsk Avangard, played brightly, but last season they lost stability. Last summer, in addition to Kuznetsov, defenseman Nikita Zaitsev arrived from the NHL, forwards Sergey Plotnikov and Mikhail Grigorenko moved from CSKA, and forward Sergey Andronov from Lokomotiv Yaroslavl.

"Such rotations in the off—season are Roman Borisovich's style," Artyukhin explained. — He is constantly trying out new guys, trying to cheer up the team, rejuvenate it, change something. When such clubs don't have results, you can understand trying to find the reasons for this and improve the situation. Moreover, the methods may be wrong, I'm just talking about how Roman Borisovich understands the possibilities of doing better. He considers it necessary to change players and recruit other guys. In my opinion, we just need to find a middle ground here: rotate in certain positions, but at the same time part of the squad should remain stable.

It is worth noting the constant change of goalkeepers. In previous seasons, this line was also unstable. For example, in 2023, Vladislav Podyapolsky left the team after playing less than a season. He then created a sensation by leading Tolyatti Lada to the playoffs, and this spring, together with Dynamo, he knocked out SKA. It seemed that Nikita Serebryakov, who became the best goalkeeper of the KHL the season before last thanks to playing for Admiral Vladivostok, had moved to St. Petersburg for a long time in the fall of 2023. But he only lasted a year in SKA.

In the fall of 2024, Nikita joined Avangard, with whom he is now fighting to reach the semifinals of the playoffs. And SKA made a bet on the young Egor Zavragin. Sometimes he was replaced by Artemy Pleshkov and Pavel Moisevich. During the series with Dynamo Moscow, Zavragin was replaced by Pleshkov, but this only delayed the departure of the team.

"There were young guys there this season, and the coaching staff tried to find a leader among them who could take the number one position," Artyukhin emphasized. — But, unfortunately, all the goalkeepers have not yet been able to prove themselves as expected of them. And you can understand them: they are still young, they have a great future. But at the moment they cannot show themselves so that the team goes with them to the Gagarin Cup. Serebryakov's departure is a serious factor. But, as in the case of Kuznetsov, we do not know the internal issues. There may have been some complaints about Nikita, but we don't know. It should be understood that the goalkeeper's game largely depends on the defense. And playing defensively is one of SKA's main problems throughout the season. And no matter what kind of goalkeeper you put there, when you get shot in every game, go out "2 in 1" on an empty goal, it will consistently lead to goals, no matter who protects your goal — Serebryakov, Zavragin, Pleshkov or Moisevich. He won't be able to get it out.

Headquarters

Earlier this week, Sport-Express published information that Rotenberg's assistants, Evgeny Koreshkov and Albert Leshchev, had left SKA. It is especially worth noting Koreshkov, who has succeeded in his previous jobs as an assistant. In 2011, he won the World Youth Championship with the Russian national team (U-20) on Valery Bragin's staff. And then he helped Igor Nikitin and Sergey Fedorov win the Gagarin Cup with CSKA once.

It is worth noting the situation with working with defenders. Last season, SKA did not have a dedicated coach in this area. Sergey Zubov, who was previously responsible for this area, left for the post of Sochi head coach. His functions were performed by Konstantin Shafranov, a former striker, and now the strongest specialist in working with the special brigades of the majority and minority. It was under his leadership that Avangard won the Gagarin Cup in 2021, when Omsk's success was largely determined by the excellent implementation of the majority. After that, Shafranov joined SKA. And this season, he was put on an unusual job with defense.

— SKA needs a serious, comprehensive approach to ensure that the team starts playing defense correctly. And we can start from this. Then there will be a result, and the goalkeepers will become more confident, because they will understand that they have a defense, there is someone to clean up, someone to take the rebound, in order to prevent the opponent from finishing the puck into an empty net. SKA didn't have all that this season. The problem was in the defense — it was incorrectly set, — Evgeny Artyukhin is sure. — Many guys have done things that are unacceptable to defenders. For example, take the puck, throw it somewhere, leave your nickel and go to the place of the outfield attacker. In general, everything is based on discipline — this was the main problem of the team. I don't know how they are taught to play defense. Maybe this is related to Shafranov's role, since everyone should be responsible for what they are good at. But the SKA coaching staff analyzed this and decided to distribute the responsibilities among themselves. I don't want to put all the blame for the defense on Shafranov — after all, we know him as a first-class specialist in most games, playing in unequal lineups in general. Here we are talking about the entire system that led to such defensive actions.

So far, Roman Rotenberg is preparing as the head coach of the Russian national team for the May friendly matches with Kazakhstan and Belarus in Astana, as well as with Belarus in Tolyatti and Minsk.