After months of rumors about an NHL return, Evgeny Kuznetsov is back in Russia.
The ex-NHL star signed a one-year contract with Metallurg Magnitogorsk of the KHL, the team announced Wednesday.
Kuznetsov, 33, is coming off an injury-riddled 37-point, 39-game campaign with SKA St. Petersburg. It was his first season back in Russia after a 12-season NHL career spanning 743 games. Kuznetsov amassed 575 points and won the Stanley Cup along the way.
The 6-foot-2 center left the NHL following a 2023-24 campaign that saw the once point-per-game player put up just 24 points through 63 games between the Washington Capitals and Carolina Hurricanes. Signing a four-year deal with St. Petersburg that off-season, it had appeared as though Kuznetsov’s NHL career ended.
However, after a season in which the Chelyabinsk, Russia, native suffered a concussion and upper-body injury, the two sides came to a mutual contract termination in April 2025.
“The coach didn’t use him the way Evgeny would’ve liked,” Kuznetsov’s agent, Shumi Babaev, told RG.org in late June.
RG.org’s report in June mentioned 10 NHL teams had shown interest in the four-time 20-goal scorer, and that he was only negotiating with NHL teams, according to his agent.
“Not because there are no offers from Russia – there are,” Babaev said. “And honestly, he’d still be one of the best players in the KHL. But right now, the focus is on returning to the NHL.”
As recently as Sept. 27, Kuznetsov was linked to the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Florida Panthers. His agent also disclosed that at that point, a move to Metallurg was “just a rumor” and that he had denied any talks with the team regarding a move.
A big sticking point that may have led to Kuznetsov’s KHL return could be that his agent made it clear in June that Kuznetsov would not consider any tryout offers, saying there’s no need to test him.
With an NHL return for Kuznetsov likely out of the question for 2025-26, the ex-Capitals star may have already played the final game of his decorated NHL career.
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