Hlinka's Avangard in both regular season and postseason performance, the line of Procházka Patera and Vlasák line was named the most productive line in the league, with Vlasák leading the league in points. During the year's playoffs, in the quarterfinals against Dynamo Moscow, Avangard became the first RSL team ever to win a series after being behind two games to none. During the 2003 playoffs' semifinals, the team was not able to defeat a significantly weaker Severstal Cherepovets team and eventually lost the third-place series to Magnitogorsk. Finishing the season, Hlinka decided to retire as a coach in favour of his career as an agent. Avangard Omsk won the RSL title in 2004, which qualified them for the inaugural IIHF European Champions Cup. They would be the first winners of that competition, beating Kärpät from the Finnish SM-liiga. Metallurg Magnitogorsk, Sibir Novosibirsk, Salavat Yulaev Ufa, Ak Bars Kazan and, to a lesser extent, Vityaz Chekhov, are considered to be Avangard's fiercest rivals in the KHL. KHL history (2008–) 2008–09 This season is considered to be one of the worst in franchise history, with the club's reputation being tarnished both on and off the ice. During the summer, Anatoly Bardin, Omsk's general manager, was kept busy bringing 18 new players in, including former Pittsburgh Penguins superstar Jaromír Jágr, goaltender John Grahame and forward Stanislav Chistov. After an unconvincing start, Head Coach Sergey Gersonskiy was fired just six games into the season. He would later start legal proceedings against the club to obtain the compensation that he was allegedly entitled to under his contract. After a number of hearings and appeals, Gersonskiy was awarded 1 million rubles, only a small proportion of what he originally claimed. The Canadian Wayne Fleming was promptly appointed as new head coach. On October 13, 2008, young Avangard forward Alexei Cherepanov died after collapsing on the bench during a game against Vityaz Chekhov. He played a shift with teammate Jaromír Jágr, and the two were talking on the bench shortly after they left the ice when Cherepanov suddenly collapsed. After being attended to on the bench, he was carried to the dressing room where he was revived for several brief moments before finally being rushed to an intensive care unit, though it was too late. The ambulance that was normally at all games had already departed and had to be called back; doctors arrived on the scene