Safonov, a Canucks prospect, is currently not under contract for the 2026-27 season.
The Vancouver Canucks may be adding another young prospect to their ranks come the start of the 2026–27 season. Russian forward Ilya Safonov, who spent this past season with KHL club Ak Bars Kazan, is not expected to extend his contract with his current team and will instead try to sign with Vancouver, as per KHL reporter @HockeyNewsHub on X.
CHEK TV's Rick Dhaliwal has also confirmed that, while the Canucks organization's contract talks with Safonov have yet to begin, there's a chance they could start soon.
Safonov’s rights were acquired by the Canucks in a trade with the Chicago Blackhawks last season, though the forward has spent the past seven seasons playing for Ak Bars full-time. Drafted 172nd overall by Chicago in 2021, Safonov will turn 25 by the end of this May. This past year, he scored 16 goals and 17 assists in 68 regular season games.
Safonov and Ak Bars have spent the past few weeks taking part in the KHL playoffs. They reached the Gagarin Cup Finals at the start of May after winning their series against Metalburg Magnitogorsk, but ultimately fell to Lokomotiv Yaroslavl in six games. The forward registered a total of two goals and seven assists in 20 KHL post-season games.
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