Todd Reirden may be headed overseas for his next head-coaching job.
According to Metaratings’ Dmitry Levin, the former Washington Capitals head coach is one of the candidates for the open bench boss job at KHL club Lokomotiv Yaroslavl. Reirden and the most recent Gagarin Cup champions are reportedly already in the contract negotiation phase.
Lokomotiv defeated Traktor Chelyabinsk in five games to win the first Cup in their franchise’s history. The team’s championship-winning coach, Igor Nikitin, is reportedly set to sign a five-year agreement with CSKA Moscow.
Reirden has been out of a job since the Pittsburgh Penguins dismissed him from his role as associate coach in May of 2024. He had been rumored to become head coach of the KHL’s Avangard Omsk last season but pulled out at the last second, citing family circumstances.
The 53-year-old former NHL defender’s lone prior head coaching experience came with the Capitals for two seasons (2018-20) after he was internally promoted when Barry Trotz left the organization due to a contract dispute. The Capitals went 89-46-16 under his watch and won the Metropolitan Division in both seasons, but they failed to advance past the first round of the playoffs.
Lokomotiv is still building its roster for next season, with only 19 players currently under contract. Of those 19 players, only Alexei Melnichuk and Alexander Yelesin have prior NHL experience. The team could still re-sign Alexander Radulov, Byron Froese, Bogdan Kiselevich, and Richard Panik from last year’s roster. Reirden coached Panik on the 2019-20 Capitals.
The 2025-26 KHL season will begin on September 5th with the Opening Cup game between Lokomotiv and Traktor.
