Hall-of-Famer Sergei Zubov abruptly leaves head coaching position after just six months

Some surprising news out of the KHL Thursday after it was announced that Sergei Zubov, a Hockey Hall-of-Famer and two-time Stanley Cup Champion, was leaving his job as the head coach of Dinamo Riga after just six months. According to the league, Zubov and Riga mutually agreed to part ways. Zubov is apparently dealing with some family issues.

«Let's just say it was not entirely unexpected," said Riga Chairman Juris Savickis. "Everything happened for family reasons, and I would not want to comment on this. But I will say that Zubov is a very great coach who created a good team. We all became friends with him."

When Zubov left the NHL after the 2008-09 season, he did so as the highest scoring Russian-born defenceman ever,. That position has since been taken over by Sergei Gonchar. However, Zubov is still widely regarded as one of the best offensive-defenceman to ever play the game. in 1068 regular season games in the NHL, he scored 152 goals and added 619 assists for 771 points. His Cup wins came with the New York Rangers in 1994 and the Dallas Stars in 1999. The Stars plan to retire Zubov's number 56 at a game in January.

While Riga likely wouldn't have made a big splash in the KHL this season, the team was improving under Zubov. Last year, it had just nine wins in 60 games. The team had already put up eight wins in 20 games this season.

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