Bob Hartley resigns from his head coaching role in the KHL.

One of the most decorated head coaches in the world is reportedly once again a free agent.

According to a report from Russian media outlet Championat, former National Hockey League head coach Bob Hartley has stepped down from his position as head coach of the Kontinental Hockey League's Avangard Omsk. Hartley, who captured the Gagarin Cup, the KHL's version of the Stanley Cup, with Avangard during the 2020 - 2021 season, cited personal reasons for his decision to resign from the position.

Translated from Russian:

"Is there any chance that I will continue to coach Avangard? When I signed a contract with the club for the second time, even then there were thoughts that these were my final two years," said Hartley as per Championat. "Now, probably, the main role is played by the distance, the remoteness of my family from me."

Although he is stepping down from his current role, Hartley also went out of his way to point out that he would not be retiring from the sport of hockey. 

Again translated from Russian:

"Now, probably, it's time to be with my family, I miss these moments," said Hartley as per the Russian outlet. "I am not announcing that I am retiring because hockey is in my blood."

Hartley would go on to add that he could see himself working in hockey again in the future, but felt the need for a break at this current moment in his life. It's hard to ignore the fact that the current political climate in that part of the world could also be a motivating factor behind Hartley's reluctance to continue in his current role in the KHL.

This would appear to make Hartley a free agent and with so many coaches in the NHL currently on expiring or interim contracts that could make him a candidate for a return to the NHL. Hartley is an extremely decorated head coach having won a Calder Cup in the American Hockey League as head coach of the Hershey Bears, a Stanley Cup in the NHL as head coach of the Colorado Avalanche and the aforementioned Gagarin Cup in the KHL as head coach of Omsk Avangard. He was also named the NHL's coach of the year for the 2014 - 2015 season, winning the Jack Adams Trophy.