Former Torpedo coach Larionov does not intend to leave SKA because of the poor results.

      October 23, 2025, 20:30 — SportEx: Igor Larionov, the former coach of Nizhny Novgorod’s Torpedo and now head coach of SKA, said he does not intend to leave his post despite the St. Petersburg team’s prolonged run of poor results in the KHL regular season.

      Under the specialist’s guidance, the Army side has suffered nine defeats in its last 11 games and, with 16 points, sits ninth in the Western Conference, outside the playoff zone. The day before, the St. Petersburg team lost to CSKA 3–4 in the “army” derby.

      After the game, Larionov was directly asked about a possible resignation amid active rumors of a coaching change. However, the SKA coach made it clear he is not even considering that option.

      “The easiest thing is to make that move. For me, as someone who has had a long career, making such a decision is the easiest thing. It’s like abandoning ship. That question hasn’t even arisen, because it’s always easy to not care, to walk away and leave. But that’s not in my character, because you have to fight to the end. That’s how the life of a player and a coach is arranged. And in my situation I prefer to keep going, because I believe in these guys, in the team, and that everything can be fixed,” Larionov emphasized.

      Moreover, TASS reported that after the match with CSKA, SKA players held a closed meeting without the coaching staff, and members of the press were not allowed into the locker room, where the usual postgame interaction with the players takes place.

      Recall that Igor Larionov headed Torpedo for three seasons. In 2024/2025 Nizhny Novgorod qualified for the playoffs from eighth place in the Western Conference. Then in the first round Torpedo was swept by Lokomotiv and were eliminated from the Gagarin Cup. In April his contract with the club was terminated early due to the team’s unsatisfactory results over the past two seasons. In the off-season he took over SKA.

      By the way, the most successful season for the “Professor” was his debut KHL season, when he worked in tandem with the current Severstal coach Andrey Kozyrev.

      As for Nizhny Novgorod’s Torpedo, the season has been more successful so far. Despite some problems, the Avtozavodtsy produced the best season start in the club’s history. Under Alexey Isakov, the Nizhny Novgorod side defeated their former coach’s team three times.

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