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KHL officially confirms three expansion teams for next season

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For the first time, KHL president Alexander Medvedev has confirmed that three expansion teams -- Sochi, Tolyatti and Jokerit -- will join the league beginning in 2014-15.

“We can speak about the entry of the Sochi club, Lada [Tolyatti] and Jokerit as fact,” Medvedev said, per R-Sport.

Jokerit, the longtime Finnish powerhouse, is leaving the SM-liiga to become part of the KHL, which now boasts teams in nine different countries (Russia, Finland, Ukraine, Belarus, Latvia, Kazakhstan, Croatia, Slovakia and the Czech Republic.)

Sochi, host of the 2014 Winter Olympics, will join the fold with reports of Hockey Hall of Famer Pavel Bure coming aboard to serve as GM.

Toylatti, commonly referred to as HC Lada, returns to the league after a four-year hiatus due to financial insolvency and the lack of a new arena.