Release from 02.04.2026

KAC extends contract with head coach Furey | Salzburg and Viveiros part ways

Short text 447 CharactersPlain text

The EC-KAC has signed a new long-term contract with head coach Kirk Furey. The 47-year-old, who has been part of the Klagenfurt organization since the summer of 2007, will thus enter his 20th season with Austria’s record champion. EC Red Bull Salzburg and Manny Viveiros, meanwhile, have decided to go their separate ways. Additionally, the Vienna Capitals announced that they will not continue their cooperation with head coach Kevin Constantine.

Press release 2663 CharactersPlain text

Furey has been in charge of the Red Jackets’ first team since the summer of 2023 and has secured top-of-the-table finishes in the win2day ICE Hockey League regular season standings in each of the past three seasons, as well as two appearances in the final and three consecutive qualifications for the Champions Hockey League. With a winning percentage of 64.7 per cent, Furey thus outperforms all of his last eleven predecessors in KAC’s coaching history. At the same time, the club has secured the continued expertise of Andrej Hočevar as goaltending coach. Earlier this week, KAC announced that former assistant coach David Fischer would be leaving Klagenfurt.

Kirk Furey: “I am both proud and grateful to be able to continue working for EC-KAC, a club with a very rich history. I look forward to continuing to work with Oliver Pilloni, the team and everyone involved with this squad; I believe we can look to the future with optimism. With the exception of winning the championship trophy – which is always the goal of every player and coach – we have achieved and developed a great deal of positive things over the past three years. At the same time, we all feel we have left unfinished business because that title is missing. We will continue on this generally positive path; our objectives for the coming seasons are very clear. EC-KAC should remain a top club in the win2day ICE Hockey League and also prove what it is capable of at international level in the Champions Hockey League. I’m looking forward to that.”

Salzburg parts ways with Manny Viveiros
At EC Red Bull Salzburg, however, a reorganisation will take place after the 2025/26 season. The club and head coach Manny Viveiros are parting ways. The 60-year-old had taken charge of the team in the summer of 2025. Salzburg finished the regular season of the win2day ICE Hockey League in third place and were eliminated in the playoff quarter-finals by HC Falkensteiner Pustertal with a 0-4 defeat. Following a thorough review of the season and the playoff defeat, the sporting management has decided to chart a new course.

Kevin Constantine will not return to Vienna
The Vienna Capitals will not be continuing their collaboration with Kevin Constantine. The 67-year-old American took over as head coach last November and led the club to seventh place in the regular season and thus into the pre-playoffs, where they were knocked out in three games by the current semi-finalists, Hydro Fehérvár AV19. Constantine coached the Caps in a total of 36 matches. In these, his team recorded 18 wins and 18 defeats.