August 1: Iskhakov has signed a two-year deal with CSKA, the team announced on Telegram on Thursday. His NHL signing rights will still belong to the Islanders when his KHL contract expires in 2026.
July 6: After making his NHL debut late in the season and even getting into a playoff game, it seemed reasonable to think that winger Ruslan Iskhakov was in the Islanders’ plans for next season, at least as a player who could be called up early when injuries struck. However, it doesn’t appear as if that will be an option as Championat’s Dmitry Storozhev relays that Iskhakov is one of six players expected to sign with CSKA Moscow of the KHL in the coming days.
The 23-year-old was a second-round pick (43rd overall) of the Isles back in 2018 despite being one of the smallest players in that draft class, coming in at just 5’7. He spent two years at the University of Connecticut before turning pro, spending time in both Finland and Germany before coming back to North America for the 2022-23 campaign.
In his two seasons with AHL Bridgeport, Iskhakov was one of their most consistent scoring threats. He finished third in rookie scoring in 2022-23 with 51 points in 69 games and nearly duplicated that last season, tallying 50 points in 69 games while adding an assist in his lone regular season appearance with New York.
That was enough for the Islanders to tender him a two-way qualifying offer last month worth a little under $814K at the NHL level. However, it appears that Iskhakov will eschew that to return home where he hasn’t played since before being drafted.
Worth noting is that CSKA Moscow is under sanctions from the IIHF regarding their handling of Flyers goaltender Ivan Fedotov, including a two-year ban on transfers. However, Storozhev notes that the State Duma adopted a bill that allows leagues to approve regulations regardless of international federations, effectively bypassing the IIHF sanctions which will allow Iskhakov and others to join CSKA in the near future once the bill is signed into law.
Do not like the Russian government, obviously, but the IIHF is in the wrong on this issue.