Exodus From Astana Continues

Last week, Kazakhstan-based KHL club Barys Astana released three of its highest-profile players – ex-NHLers Michael McLeod, Nathan Beaulieu and Will Butcher. Since then, the club has released a couple more of its North Americans – Chase De Leo and Alex Grant.

The club announced the departures of both players on its website in a similar manner to the announcement about the first three – by stating that the contract in question “was terminated at the initiative of the club with the payment of compensation.”

De Leo, a 29-year-old American forward, was just nine games into his first season with the team when he was released last Sunday. A fourth-round pick of the Winnipeg Jets in 2014, De Leo played a total of seven NHL games with the Jets, Anaheim Ducks and New Jersey Devils between 2015 and 2022, failing to record a point. He had spent the past two seasons as the captain of the AHL’s San Diego Gulls.

De Leo is rumored to be headed to the SCL Tigers in Switzerland – the same landing place as recent KHL escapee Michal Krištof.

Grant, a 35-year-old Canadian defenseman, had only played two games with Barys this season before his release on Saturday but had recorded 19 points in 41 games with the team since being acquired from SKA St. Petersburg almost two years ago. Grant was a fourth-round draft pick of the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2007 and, like De Leo, played seven NHL games. Grant played with Anaheim and the Arizona Coyotes and scored two goals. He also played in the systems of the Ottawa Senators, Boston Bruins and Minnesota Wild, after which he played four seasons in Finland for Jokerit Helsinki.

Grant represented Canada at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.

After starting the season with eight players with NHL experience and seven born in North America, Barys now only has three and two, respectively, with Canadian right winger Wade Allison and injured American left winger Connor Smith ticking both boxes. The club also has 32-year-old Swedish goaltender Johan Mattsson on its roster.

Barys is currently last place in the 23-team KHL with four wins and 11 points in 19 games. This roster-trimming of some of their higher-priced players appears to be an extreme cost-cutting measure in the face of a lost season.