KHL clubs CSKA Moscow and Metallurg Magnitogorsk were involved in a one-for-one trade involving Russian forwards on Thursday, the latter club announced. Ruslan Iskhakov, 24, is headed to Magnitogorsk and 29-year-old Denis Zernov is headed west to the Russian capital.

Iskhakov, who was a second-round pick of the New York Islanders in 2018, played one NHL regular-season game and one playoff game with the Isles in 2023-24, recording one assist. Born and raised in Moscow, Iskhakov played two NCAA seasons for the University of Connecticut Huskies and also played a season in Finland for TPS and in Germany for Adler Mannheim.

Internationally, Iskhakov played for Russia at the 2018 IIHF U-18 World Championship, scoring three goals in five games.

Last season, Iskhakov’s first in the KHL, he had 31 points in 65 regular-season and playoff games for CSKA.

Zernov, on the other hand, has played his entire career in Russia. He has 271 points in 580 career KHL games with Lada Togliatti, Avangard Omsk and Magnitogorsk. He has been part of two Gagarin Cup championship teams in Omsk in 2021 and Magnitogorsk in 2024.

Goalie Spencer Martin Signs In KHL Canadian goaltender Spencer Martin, 30, has signed a two-year contract with CSKA Moscow, <a href="https://cska-hockey.ru/news/general/spenser_martin_stal_igrokom_tsska/">the KHL club announced</a> on Wednesday.

CSKA, colloquially known as the Red Army team, and “Magnitka” are two of the KHL’s perennial powerhouse teams. Together, they have accounted for three of the last four and six of the last 11 Gagarin Cup winners. Last season, however, Magnitogorsk finished third place in the Eastern Conference, CSKA finished fifth in the west, and both teams went out in the first round of the playoffs.

Photo © Daniel DeLoach/Utica Observer-Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK: Bridgeport's Ruslan Iskhakov battles with Utica's Kyle Criscuolo in AHL action on Friday, March 22, 2024.

Utah Prospect, Ex-Sen Egor Sokolov Signs In KHL Russian winger Egor Sokolov, 25, has signed a one-year contract with CSKA Moscow, <a href="https://cska-hockey.ru/news/general/tsska_zaklyuchil_kontrakt_s_egorom_sokolovym/">the KHL club announced on Tuesday</a>. According to the announcement, CSKA had earlier worked out an agreement with Avtomobilist Yetaterinberg, who had previously held Sokolov’s KHL rights.