Michael McLeod signs with KHL's Barys Astana

Canadian free-agent center Michael McLeod, 26, has signed a one-year contract with Barys Astana, the Kazakhstan-based KHL club announced on Friday.

After playing junior for his hometown Mississauga Steelheads, McLeod was chosen in the first round, 12th overall, by the New Jersey Devils in 2016. Between 2018 and 2024, McLeod played 287 regular-season NHL games for the Devils, registering 29 goals, 56 assists, 85 points and 187 penalty minutes. His only NHL playoff action came in 2023, recording six points in 12 games as the Devils advanced to the second round.

On January 24, 2024, McLeod and teammate Cal Foote were granted indefinite leaves of absence from the team.

Internationally, McLeod represented Canada at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup, the IIHF U18 World Championship and at two World Junior Championships, winning a gold medal in 2018. On January 30, 2024, McLeod was one of five members from that 2018 team charged with sexual assault, stemming from a 2018 team event in London, Ontario. Others charged were Foote, Dillon Dubé, Carter Hart and Alex Formenton. The charges have not been proven in court and McLeod’s representatives have said that he will plead not guilty.

McLeod is the second of the five players charged to sign with KHL clubs – Dubé signed with Belarus-based Dinamo Minsk on July 1. 

In Astana, McLeod joins former NHLers Nathan Beaulieu and Will Butcher.

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