A new home, a new head coach－and the same old chaos.

That's the storyline for Kunlun Red Star, China's lone entry in the Russia-based Kontinental Hockey League, which launched its 2020-21 season on Sept 2.

Poised to be based in Beijing for its fifth KHL campaign, the team informed the league in July that it would be temporarily moved to Mytishchi, Russia, due to the coronavirus pandemic. Red Star split its first four seasons between Beijing and Shanghai.

Not having a permanent home base has plagued the franchise since it was founded in 2016, and the absence of coaching continuity has only added to the confusion.

Curt Fraser, who played 700 games in the NHL for the Vancouver Canucks, Chicago Blackhawks and Minnesota North Stars, helmed the club last season－the fourth head coach in as many years.

Along with former assistant bench boss Steve Kasper and goal-tending coach Dusty Imoo, Fraser returned to North America when the season was suspended in March due to the pandemic－but the club continued to do business, including making trades and signing players to contracts.

The coaches told ESPN they have not been paid their salaries since their departure, so they are now suing Red Star for more than $1 million in combined compensation.

"When I called (Red Star GM) Scott MacPherson to ask about our missed paychecks, he told me they couldn't bring us back because of visa problems," Fraser said. "Then I talked to (fellow North American-born KHL coaches) Bob Hartley and Bill Peters and they were like no, no, everything is good for us. No visa problems."

Kasper, who had been part of the Red Star organization since 2017, said the club told him to be ready to report to training camp around July 15.

"We kept calling and asking about the travel arrangements and they'd say, 'Oh, we'll send you info next week, next week,'" Kasper said. "Then they told us about moving to Mytishchi and sent me a video of the rink. Everything looked great. And then, nothing, nothing, nothing. All of the sudden, on July 14 we get a call and they say, 'We're not bringing you back.'"

The coaching reins have been handed to Alexei Kovalev, who's facing a baptism of fire. The 47-year-old, who played 18 NHL seasons with the New York Rangers, Pittsburgh Penguins, Montreal Canadiens, Ottawa Senators and Florida Panthers, is starting from scratch with a patchwork roster that's been devastated by departures and coronavirus restrictions.

Last season there were 12 Chinese heritage players who suited up for Kunlun. This season, there is just one Chinese heritage player (forward Tyler Wong) listed on the team's official roster, which is now filled with predominantly Russia-born skaters because of pandemic-related travel difficulties.

The latest departure came on Sept 11 when the Edmonton Oilers signed forward Adam Cracknell to a two-way contract for the 2020-21 NHL season.

The 6-foot-3, 209-pound (1.91-meter, 95-kilogram) Canadian notched 10 goals and 14 assists in 52 games as an alternate captain for Red Star last season. He appeared in eight games with the Oilers in 2015-16 after Edmonton claimed him off waivers from Vancouver.

Meanwhile, Claire Liu, GM of Red Star's Vanke Rays women's squad, believes members of her team could bolster China's chances at the 2022 Beijing Olympics.

The Rays played in the professional Canadian Women's Hockey League for two years until it disbanded ahead of the 2019-20 season. The club then joined the eight-team Russian women's league, and was crowned champion in March.

Liu said she hopes members of the team will represent the host nation at Beijing 2022.

"There are a lot of rules or policies helping to push hockey to grow in China for the 2022 Games, and we are part of it," Liu said in a recent report to the International Ice Hockey Federation.

"Our championship is big news and a big encouragement for all the Chinese people who are interested in hockey or playing hockey.

"They know we can do something different and we can improve. Even though we're an international club, we're not exclusively Chinese players. Last year we had a lot of Chinese players and heritage players, and they might eventually be able to play in the Olympics."

The IIHF has urged China to improve its national teams if it is to justify its automatic home-nation qualification for the 2022 Beijing Games.

Canada, the United States, Finland, Russia and Switzerland－the top five teams in the world－will compete in Group A of the women's tournament. China and Japan will be joined by three qualifiers, to be determined next year, in Group B.