KHL Goaltender Alexei Murygin Dies at 39

Alexei Murygin, a Russian goaltender born in Khabarovsk in 1986, died at age 39 after battling tonsillar cancer. His professional career spanned nearly two decades in the Kontinental Hockey League, where he played for six clubs including Amur Khabarovsk, Metallurg Magnitogorsk, Lokomotiv Yaroslavl, Avangard Omsk, Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod, Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk and Kunlun Red Star. In the 2015‑16 season he set a KHL shut‑out streak record of 302 minutes and 11 seconds, a mark that stood until it was later broken.

Diagnosed with high‑grade tonsillar cancer in 2019, Murygin fought the disease, returned to play, and later resumed coaching. The Amur Khabarovsk club announced his death, saying, “Today the heart of our fellow citizen, a distinguished goalkeeper and wonderful person, stopped beating.” He is survived by his wife Ksenia and three daughters.