Former Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Nikita Nesterov is staying in Moscow for the foreseeable future. On June 1, it was announced that the 33-year-old defenseman has signed a two-year contract extension [https://www.khl.ru/news/2026/06/01/562951.html]with CSKA Moskow. Nesterov originally joined the Lightning organization as a fifth-round pick during the 2011 NHL Draft. He made the move to North America for the 2013-14 season, joining the Lightning's American Hockey League affiliate, the Syracuse Crunch. He then made his NHL debut the following season and became a mainstay in the Lightning's lineup for a couple of seasons until he was moved to the Montreal Canadiens during the 2016-17 season. After just 15 games in Montreal, split between the regular season and playoffs, he returned to Russia and signed with CSKA Moscow for the 2017-18 season. He did attempt an NHL comeback during the 2020-21 season with the Calgary Flames, but after one campaign in Canada, he returned to CSKA for the 2021-22 season. Nesterov has served as CSKA's captain since the 2022-23 season, and with a new two-year extension, it looks like he'll be sticking around in Russia's capital city for the foreseeable future.
