Dyukov noted the improvements in HC Avangard

Russian Football Union (RFU) President Alexander Dyukov has assessed the performance of the Avangard Omsk hockey team in the current KHL season. The company he heads, Gazprom Neft, is a key sponsor of the Hawks.

"Avangard" failed the beginning of the regular season and for a long time was out of the playoff zone. It wasn't until December that it significantly improved its results and climbed to seventh place in the Eastern Conference (the top eight teams qualify for the playoffs).

"The situation in the team is improving - you can see that from the results. But a significant part of the season is still ahead of us. It's important to prepare for the playoffs. Because the main trophy is played in the playoffs, while the regular season is underway," Alexander Dyukov told Izvestia.

Dyukov also noted that the issue of reducing the funding of Avangard was not considered, and the next season's budget may be affected by the situation with the salary ceiling in the KHL. From 2020, the sum of all hockey players' salaries in each club should not exceed 900 million rubles.

"The club's budget for this season has been determined - the club is working within its framework. As for the budget for next season, let's finish the current one, and then we will already decide on the next one. A lot of factors can affect the funding. For example, the KHL's decision on the salary ceiling and other inputs," added Dyukov.

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Earlier, on December 28, Avangard defeated Lada of Togliatti in a regular season match of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). The meeting ended with a score of 7:6.

On November 27, Canadian specialist Guy Boucher was appointed head coach of Avangard. He held his first training session on December 12, but then left for his native country to solve problems with a sore knee. During this period the team was managed by his assistant Dave Barr. Omichi played their first game under Boucher on December 28, beating Lada Togliatti (7-6) at home. On December 30, they lost at home to Metallurg Magnitogorsk (1:2).

Avangard started the season under the leadership of Sergei Zvyagin, who was fired from the club in early December. After that, for two games, Slovak Andrei Podkonicki was the acting head coach.

In addition, in the fall, the club almost completely changed its leadership - chairman of the board of directors Vadim Averin, general manager Anton Kurianov and sports director Evgeny Zabuga. The Board of Directors was headed by Evgeny Kozhevnikov, the position of Director of Sports Operations (actually performing the functions of general manager and sports director) since November has been fulfilled by Kirill Alekseev.