Russian-Bulgarian goaltender Alexandar Georgiev, 29, has signed a two-year contract to play for Spartak Moscow, the KHL club announced on Tuesday.

The news comes two days after Georgiev’s contract with the Buffalo Sabres was terminated by mutual agreement, and it was speculated at the time that it was done with the intention of returning to play in Russia.

Georgiev had only played two AHL games for the Rochester Americans this season, both losses, with a goals-against average of 3.57 and a save percentage of .896.

For Georgiev, who was born in Bulgaria but moved with his family to Russia at a young age, it will be his first time playing in the KHL and his first time playing in Russia since 2014, when he was 18.

From age 18 to 21, Georgiev played in Finland, mostly for TPS Turku, with whom he played 54 Liiga regular-season and playoff games and three Champions Hockey League games.

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Never drafted by an NHL club, Georgiev signed as a free agent with the New York Rangers in 2017. From then until 2025, he played 303 NHL regular-season games with the Rangers, Colorado Avalanche and San Jose Sharks, compiling a record of 151-108-26 with 15 shutouts, a goals-against average of 2.99 and a save percentage of .903. He also played 20 playoff games, where his record was 9-10 with a 2.72 average and .904 save percentage.

Georgiev joins a Spartak team that sits seventh in the KHL’s 11-team Western Conference with a record of 14-12-3 through 29 games. Spartak’s roster includes Slovak ex-NHLers Adam Ružička and Christian Jaroš. He will likely share a crease with 30-year-old Artyom Zagidulin, who played one game for the Calgary Flames in 2021.

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