Predators’ Semyon Chistyakov Signs One-Year Extension In KHL
KHL defenseman Semyon Chistyakov, whose NHL rights are held by the Nashville Predators, has signed a one-year contract extension with his current club, Avangard Omsk.
Chistyakov signed a two-year extension in June that runs until the end of the KHL’s 2026-27 season, and now today’s news means he’ll be under contract through 2027-28.
Avangard GM Alexei Sopin called the 24-year-old blueliner “a key figure not only for the club but for the entire city,” and named him as a core part of the team’s roster. Avangard currently sit in second place in the KHL’s Eastern Conference, and the team’s near-term competitiveness likely heightened the level of urgency the club felt in its efforts to sign Chistyakov to an early extension.
The move is relevant from an NHL perspective, as it pushes back the date that the Predators could sign Chistyakov by another year. According to PuckPedia, the club maintains an indefinite exclusive right to sign Chistyakov.
While it’s never a guarantee how a player might translate his game from the KHL to the NHL, Chistyakov offers many valuable on-ice qualities that lend confidence to the idea that he could be a capable NHL defenseman. The Athletic’s Corey Pronman ranked Chistyakov the No. 14 prospect in Nashville’s system back in 2023, calling the player “an excellent skater who is physical and competes at a high level,” while also raising some questions about his size. Chistyakov is a well-regarded prospect dating back to his draft year, when he was ranked the No. 16 international skater by NHL Central Scouting.
Over the last two years, Chistyakov has become one of the KHL’s better defensemen, further lending credibility to the idea of those public-facing scouts that he could be a useful NHL player. Chistyakov, who is listed at 5’11”, 198 pounds, enjoyed a breakout 2024-25 campaign. He led the KHL in goal scoring by a defenseman with 19 tallies, and finished with 40 points in 68 games. He was an all-star that year, and even scored seven points in 13 playoff games.
While Chistyakov’s production is down this season (he has five goals, 21 points in 54 games), as is his ice time (he’s averaging 18:35 per game in 2025-26 compared to over 20 minutes per night last season), he remains a prospect who could provide legitimate value to an organization if he crosses the Atlantic. Despite his offense declining, he remains a contributor on Omsk’s penalty kill, for example.
Unfortunately for Nashville, Chistyakov’s recent extension signing pushes back the date he could join Nashville/Milwaukee by at least another year.
Morning Notes: Vladar, Garland, Klapka
While they have not been able to hold down a playoff spot, the Philadelphia Flyers have been a largely competitive team this season, and a significant reason for that has been the excellent play provided by netminder Daniel Vladar. The team signed Vladar, a longtime backup, this summer to compete with Samuel Ersson for the No. 1 role on the team, and he’s run away with it. In 35 games, Vladar has a .907 save percentage and 2.42 goals-against-average. Vladar has one more year remaining on his deal at a $3.35MM cap hit, and The Athletic’s Kevin Kurz asked Vladar about the prospect of signing an early extension with the team. Vladar made it clear that it was too early for those questions, saying “It’s too far ahead. I’m living my life day by day, week by week.”
Given Vladar’s success this season, it’s likely the Flyers have interest in locking him into an extension before his current deal expires. He won’t turn 29 until August, meaning he isn’t just a short-term stopgap option for Philadelphia. The team has some talented goalie prospects in its system, such as Carson Bjarnason, Yegor Zavragin, and Aleksei Kolosov, but keeping Vladar is the kind of move that can help the development of those players, rather than hinder it, because of how his presence helps keep those young goalies from playing too much, too early in their NHL career. The key factor related to Vladar’s situation is likely to be cost. Kurz pointed to the recent extension signed by Minnesota Wild starter Filip Gustavsson as a comparable deal (five years, $6.8MM AAV), but it should be noted that Gustavsson had more extensive experience as a No. 1 goalie when he signed that deal.
Other notes from around the NHL:
- As the Vancouver Canucks chart their course through an uncertain competitive future, one veteran name drawing interest ahead of the trade deadline is that of winger Conor Garland. According to Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Citizen, Senators head coach Travis Green is a “huge backer” of Garland, dating back to his own days as head coach of the Canucks, and as a result “it would be no surprise if the Senators checked in on” Garland. The 29-year-old has seven goals and 26 points in 49 games this season, and would instantly plug in somewhere in Ottawa’s top-nine. The main area of contention regarding a Garland trade is likely to be his contract, as his six-year, $6MM AAV contract kicks in next year. That contract has a full no-move clause attached.
- With the Calgary Flames sitting near the bottom of league standings, the focus for the rest of the season is undoubtedly on maximizing the growth and development of the team’s younger players, something that will be especially true after the trade deadline. One player poised to get an increased opportunity on the ice is 25-year-old winger Adam Klapka, according to Sportsnet’s Eric Francis. Klapka is already a success story for the Flames’ player development team, as the massive 6’8″ has blossomed into an NHLer since signing as an undrafted player out of the Czech Extraliga. But the Flames, including head coach Ryan Huska, appear to believe there is room for Klapka to provide even more value on the ice. Under contract for an additional season at a $1.25MM cap hit, Klapka will be one of the players to watch in Calgary moving forward, as he’s poised to gain a greater role once the Flames make their trade deadline moves. Through 57 games this season, he has notched five goals, 12 points, and 215 hits.