The Gagarin Cup
The Gagarin Cup is the championship trophy of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). The cup name commemorates Yuri Gagarin, the first man to fly in space. The KHL decided the name would be so because the last possible game of the inaugural KHL season would take place on April 12th, date of the anniversary of Gagarin's flight.
The tournament[]
In order to win the Gagarin Cup, teams must first qualify for the KHL playoffs. The 16 best teams (out of 24) qualify at the end of the season. While the 1/8 finals and quarterfinals will be of a best-of-five format, the semi-finals and the final will be best-of-seven series, with the Gagarin Cup ultimately awarded to the winner of the finals.
History[]
The inaugural Gagarin Cup tournament was won by Ak Bars Kazan, who defeated Lokomotiv Yaroslavl four games against three.
The winners[]
 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Season | Champion | Runner-up | Series result | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008-09 | Ak Bars Kazan | Lokomotiv Yaroslavl | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2009-10 | Ak Bars Kazan | HC MVD | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2010-11 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
This article is part of the Kontinental Hockey League portal. |