Roman Rotenberg has publicly addressed his departure as head coach of SKA Saint Petersburg, expressing gratitude to fans, players, staff, PJSC Gazprom, and Alexey Miller. The announcement follows SKA’s official confirmation of his contract’s early termination on Monday, June 2nd. Igor Larionov will succeed him as the team’s new head coach.

Rotenberg acknowledged the significant responsibility of coaching SKA, recalling his involvement with the team since 2011 and their historic Gagarin Cup win in 2015.

He emphasized his pride in SKA’s achievements, including two Gagarin Cups, KHL and MHL titles, and the Russian Championship gold. He stated that they had collectively made history for the club.

Rotenberg described hockey as his “childhood love” and highlighted SKA’s commitment to developing Russian hockey by nurturing young talent, broadening their fan base, and promoting an exciting, offensive style of play. He voiced his hopes that SKA will maintain its leading position in Russian hockey.

The announcement comes after SKA deemed the performance of the board of directors and coaching staff as unsatisfactory on May 30th. Consequently, Chairman of the Board of Directors Alexander Medvedev, his deputy Roman Rotenberg, and General Director Olga Lovyagina stepped down from their respective roles.