Russian defenseman Nikolai Goldobin, 29, has been claimed off KHL waivers by SKA St. Petersburg, the KHL website announced on Monday. He had been waived by Spartak Moscow, the club for which he’d played the past two seasons.

Born in Moscow, Goldobin went overseas at age 16 to play junior hockey for the OHL’s Sarnia Sting. He became a first-round pick of the San Jose Sharks in the 2014 NHL Entry Draft, selected 27th overall.

Goldobin spent most of the 2014-15 season playing in Finland for HIFK Helsinki before signing with the Sharks late in the season and moving to the AHL’s San Jose Barracuda.

Between 2015 and 2019, Goldobin played 125 NHL games for the Sharks and Vancouver Canucks, recording 46 points and 24 penalty minutes. In February 2017, he was traded from San Jose to Vancouver for Danish winger Jannik Hansen.

Ex-Canuck Nikita Tryamkin Signs 3-Year Contract Extension In KHL Russian defenseman Nikita Tryamkin, 30, has signed a three-year contract extension with Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg that will run through the end of the 2027-28 season,

Goldobin has spent the past five seasons in the KHL playing for CSKA Moscow, Metallurg Magnitogorsk and Spartak, recording 277 points in 339 regular-season and playoff games.

A perennial powerhouse in the KHL, last season SKA finished a disappointing seventh in the Western Conference and was eliminated in the first round of the playoffs despite a star-studded lineup that included Ivan Demidov, Alexander Nikishin, Mikhail Grigorenko, Evgeny Kuznetsov, Arseni Gritsyuk, Nikita Zaitsev and Tony DeAngelo.

Heading into 2025-26, only Zaitsev remains from that group. The team has replaced coach Roman Rotenberg with Igor Larionov and added center Igor Larionov Jr. and North Americans Rocco Grimaldi Trevor Murphy, Brennan Menell and Joey Blandisi, who have some NHL experience.

Alexander Burmistrov & Adam Clendening Latest To Sign With Chinese KHL Team Ever since a major rebranding a week ago, the Shanghai Dragons have hired a high-profile head coach and signed 14 new players, including several ex-NHLers. On Saturday, five new signings were announced, including Russian center Alexander Burmistrov and the re-signing of American defenseman Adam Clendening.

Rocco Grimaldi Will Play For Igor Larionov In KHL American forward Rocco Grimaldi, 32, has signed a two-year contract with SKA St. Petersburg, the KHL announced on Wednesday.