Russian forward Evgeny Kuznetsov has signed a four-year contract with SKA St. Petersburg, the KHL club announced on Wednesday.
Details of the deal are still being becoming known but, according to Russian journalist Daria Tuboltseva, his official AAV will be $950,000 US "with big potential bonuses" that
In St. Petersburg, Kuznetsov will become teammates with Nikita Zaitsev, who signed there in early July, and Mikhail Grigorenko.
The signing has been widely speculated ever since Carolina placed him on unconditional waivers on July 17 for the purpose of terminating his contract.
Kuznetsov had one year remaining on his NHL contract, which was due to pay him $6 million US in 2024-25. However, Kuznetsov had expressed a desire to return to play in Russia and the Hurricanes were happy to be rid of his contract and $7.8 million cap hit, which was excessive given his decline in production. Last season, Kuznetsov recorded 24 points in 67 regular-season games split between the Washington Capitals and Carolina Hurricanes. He then had seven points in 20 playoff games for the Canes.
Carolina had acquired Kuznetsov, 32, at this year’s trading deadline from Washington, for whom he had played since arriving in the NHL during the 2013-14 season. If this is the end of Kuznetsov’s NHL career, he finishes with 575 points in 743 regular-season games and 73 points in 97 playoff games. He was a member of the Capitals’ 2017-18 Stanley Cup championship team, recording a league-leading 32 points in 24 games during that playoff run.
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