CSKA coach Nikitin: “I don’t regret leaving Lokomotiv for CSKA. It was a deliberate decision.”

CSKA head coach Igor Nikitin said that he does not regret his decision to leave Lokomotiv Yaroslavl at the end of last season.

Nikitin led Lokomotiv from 2021 to 2025, which led them to victory in the Gagarin Cup last season. From 2017 to 2021, he coached CSKA, with whom he also won the main KHL trophy in 2019. In the summer of 2025, Nikitin returned to the army team.

On Saturday, CSKA lost away to Barys with a score of 1:3 in the Fonbet KHL Championship match.

“We couldn’t break through the opponent’s defense. They defended in an organized manner and moved well. The positive is that we fought until the end. But you need to score more to win.

— Is it true that Poltapov’s disallowed goal had a strong impact on your team?

— In every game there are situations that can affect the outcome of the match. Strong teams respond to this correctly, without focusing on it. On the contrary, we raise guys in such a way that any situation should become motivation.

— The next match is at home against Barys. What will you change?

“We have one spare, so we don’t have much options.” But what’s great about hockey is that you have a game tomorrow.

— Do you now regret leaving Lokomotiv for CSKA?

– No, I’m an adult, I make all decisions carefully. Thank God for everything.

— What is your main goal for CSKA this season?

– This is a global issue. Now our task is to build a team of characterful guys, decent professionals, hungry for victories,” the Match TV correspondent reports Nikitin’s words.

CSKA is sixth in the Western Conference table with 54 points from 48 matches.

Watch live broadcasts of Fonbet KHL Championship matches on Match TV and the holding’s channels, as well as on the websites matchtv.ru and sportbox.ru.