MOSCOW, December 24 (R-Sport) – Salavat Yulaev Ufa has fired head coach Vener Safin after the 2011 Gagarin Cup winner suffered three consecutive defeats.
Safin became the 12th KHL coach to lose his job this season and the third in the last week following the dismissals of Finnish coaches Hannu Jortikka from Amur Khabarovsk and Kari Jalonen from Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod.
The last straw came with Sunday’s 4-1 road thrashing by CSKA Moscow that left the team from Bashkortostan fifth in the Eastern Conference with 19 wins from 37 games.
“By mutual agreement, the cooperation between Salavat Yulaev and Vener Safin was terminated,” the team announced on its website Monday.
“The hockey team thanks Vener Rasikhovich for his work and wishes him further professional success.”
Safin, who has been working with the team since 2001 and won the Gagarin Cup as an assistant coach, took over in November 2011.
He signed a two-year extension in April despite the team's first-round elimination from the playoffs.
Vladimir Yurzinov Jr., the son of the famous Soviet IIHF Hall of Famer, was appointed acting coach.