The club is one of the most successful teams in Russia.
History
The team was founded in 1946 and belonged the Dynamo Moscow sports club, a part of Dynamo sports society sponsored by the Soviet Ministry of Interior and the national security structures including the KGB. It won the first Soviet hockey championship in 1946–47, beating Spartak Moscow in the finals. Helmed by Arkady Chernyshev during the first decades of its history, Dynamo established itself as one of the top teams of the Soviet hockey league. Throughout the Soviet era, Dynamo was among the top three teams almost every season, winning five championships and three USSR Cups. The last years of the Soviet hockey championship and the beginning of the IHL period were marked with Dynamo winning fours seasons in a row and ending CSKA Moscow's dominance that had lasted for decades.[citation needed]
Merger with HC MVD
In 2010, Dynamo Moscow merged with HC MVD, a KHL team from Balashikha owned by the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MVD). The team continued the history of the Dynamo club, with the majority of its roster and executives from HC MVD. The new club was officially called United Hockey Club (UHC) Dynamo Moscow, and for one season the new club was referred to as UHC Dynamo, then for a couple years as UHC Dynamo Moscow, but in 2012 the official name of the club was reverted to Hockey Club Dynamo Moscow.[1]
Under the guidance of director and president, Andrei Safronov, HC Dynamo was reported to have amassed a debt of 2 billion rubles (US$33 million) following the 2016–17 season.[3] With concerns from the governing body of the KHL, Dynamo were ordered to give a presentation as to how they would be funded in the following season on 24 May 2017.[4]
As a branch of the Dynamo Moscow sporting club, the parent company board opted to remove Safronov, citing a breach of trust with sponsors and took control of the hockey club.[3] Dynamo then refused to pay back the debt, citing it wasn't their responsibility, putting the onus on former CEO Safronov to repay the debt due to his mismanagement. With allegations of embezzlement, HC Dynamo's offices were raided by police in order to retrieve accounting documentation on 2 June 2017.[5] With the players having not been paid in three months, former HC Dynamo board led by Safronov declared bankruptcy in order to escape the debt.[6]
On 4 July 2017, at a KHL board meeting, the Disciplinary Committee took action with Dynamo's failure to meet contractual obligations by declaring all 42 players under contract with Dynamo as free agents.[7][8]
1 Russian clubs tend to hang a banner of honour with a player's jersey number (sometimes multiple players per number), while still keeping the number in circulation.[citation needed]
Current season
