HC Avangard has extended the contract with head coach Boucher for two more years.

Omsk Hockey Club (HC) Avangard has extended the contract with head coach Guy Boucher and his assistant Dave Barr until the end of the 2026/27 season. This was announced on the club's website on April 27.

As the team's general manager Alexey Sopin noted, the decision to extend contracts with established professionals shows that the club has a stable situation that should develop in the same direction.

"It is with great pleasure that I officially confirm that Guy Boucher and Dave Barr will remain at Vanguard for at least two more seasons. I think this is great news, because this is stability, this is an understanding of where we should move in the next two years," he said at a press conference.

It is noted that 53-year-old Boucher would like to keep his entire coaching staff, negotiations are currently underway with his assistants. Under the guidance of the Canadian mentor, Avangard took sixth place in the Eastern Conference of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL), adds Sport-Express. In the playoffs, the club reached the quarterfinals.

At the same time, there will be changes in the playing line-up of Avangard. Sopin announced that goalkeeper Ilya Proskuryakov, defenders Egor Voronkov, Evgeny Kulik, Sergey Boikov, as well as forwards Emil Galimov, Ilya Kablukov, Ryan Spooner and Mark Verba will leave the team.

"Thanks to such series as with Avangard, we are growing"

Lokomotiv hockey player Artur Kayumov — about the victory in the seven-match confrontation with the Omsk club, the Radulov factor and difficulties in the third period

The Canadian became the new head coach of Avangard in November 2024, and a contract was signed with his mentor until the end of the 2025/26 season. Boucher began his coaching career in the late 1990s, first as an assistant head coach and then as a head coach in various teams. In particular, he led the Hamilton Bulldogs of the American Hockey League (AHL), as well as the Tampa Bay Lightning NHL team.

In 2013, he accepted an invitation from the Swiss club Bern. After that, he returned to the NHL and spent three seasons as the head coach of the Ottawa Senators (2016-2019). He spent the 2023/24 season as an assistant coach with the Toronto Maple Leafs.