Today has been a busy day in the wider hockey world, in large part due to the fact that KHL contracts expire May 31. That made today effectively the first day of KHL free agency. This was reflected in the handful of KHL prospects signing their ELC’s earlier today, including New Jersey Devils first-rounder Anton Silayev. It also has led to numerous additional player moves.
Here, we’ll recap all of the notable transactions from the wider hockey world, largely focusing on player movement in the top professional leagues of Europe, involving several former NHL players:
- There was a swap of quality young forward talent in the KHL today, as SKA St. Petersburg acquired 23-year-old scorer Vasily Atanasov from Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod in exchange for two-time KHL Rookie of the Month Matvei Polyakov. Depth defenseman Arseny Varlakov also went from Torpedo to SKA in the deal. Polyakov is fresh off a breakout rookie season for SKA, scoring 16 goals and 29 points in 63 games. Atanasov, who is under contract through the 2027-28 season, has been a lineup regular for Torpedo since 2022-23. His best season came in 2023-24, when he scored 19 goals and 49 points in 46 games. In two seasons since, Atanasov has 38 goals and 71 points in 121 games. There have been credible reports in the past that Atanasov was receiving NHL interest, but he elected to remain in the KHL. Now, he’ll continue his KHL career playing for a different franchise.
- 2016 Philadelphia Flyers first-round pick German Rubtsov agreed on a three-year contract extension with the KHL’s Spartak Moscow, the team announced today. Rubtsov, 27, has been with the Spartak organization for the last four years. He was once a prized Flyers prospect but struggled to adapt to the North American professional game and played just three seasons in the Flyers’ system. But while Rubtsov failed to develop into an NHL player for Philadelphia, he has been a developmental success story for Spartak. He was a low-scoring forward playing in the second-tier VHL in 2022-23, and the following year, he scored just 10 points in 51 games as a full-time KHLer in Moscow. But he showed some signs of growth in 2024-25, scoring 13 goals and 25 points for Spartak. Then, he had a breakout 2025-26 season, potting 14 goals and 30 points in 50 KHL games, while winning 51.7% of his draws. His breakout has been rewarded with a new contract extension that will keep Rubtsov in Moscow until the summer of 2029.
- Former Tampa Bay Lightning, Montreal Canadiens, and Calgary Flames defenseman Nikita Nesterov signed a two-year contract extension with CSKA Moscow. Nesterov has been a staple of the CSKA teams of the last half-decade, playing for the team from 2017-18 through 2019-20, and then 2021-22 through this past season. In 2022, he was named CSKA’s captain. While Nesterov’s attempt to return to the NHL with the Flames in 2020 lasted just 38 games, he’s been a quality KHL blueliner in Moscow. He’s a five-time KHL all-star and led his club to back-to-back Gagarin Cup titles in 2022 and 2023.
- After two seasons playing minor-league hockey in North America, 2019 fourth-round pick Case McCarthy has elected to continue his career overseas. McCarthy signed a contract with the Stavanger Oilers, one of the top franchises in the Metal Ligaen, Norway’s professional hockey league. McCarthy’s professional career began in the spring of 2024, when he signed an ATO and two-year AHL contract with the Hartford Wolf Pack. McCarthy was finishing up a five-season career at Boston University, serving as captain as a senior. He played in two games for Hartford that spring, and for the last two seasons he has occupied a place on the AHL/ECHL bubble, getting into 27 AHL contests and 37 games in the third tier. He is likely to get a significant boost in playing time in Norway compared to what he received in his first two years of pro hockey.
- Derek Barach, a consistent 20-goal, 40-point scorer in the KHL, has signed a two-year contract with CSKA Moscow. Barach was a point-per-game college forward during his time at Mercyhurst University, scoring 144 points in 150 career NCAA games. Those performances earned him a shot in the AHL with the Cleveland Monsters, but after scoring 31 points in 93 games across two AHL teams, Barach signed in the Finnish Liiga in the summer of 2021. He found instant success in Europe, scoring 18 goals and 32 points in 56 games for Ässät Pori in the 2021-22 season. He had a successful two-year run in Finland before signing in the KHL for 2023-24, with Vityaz Moscow Region. He has kept up his form from Liiga in the KHL, and has 118 points in 198 career KHL games. This past season, he scored 21 goals and 40 points for Metallurg Magnitogorsk, a season that earned him a deal with CSKA.
- 2020 San Jose Sharks second-round pick Tristen Robins has signed a deal with the SHL’s IF Björklöven, ending his career in the Czech Extraliga after one season. The 24-year-old was a star WHL scorer who showed real promise in his rookie AHL campaign, scoring 17 goals and 38 points in 64 games for the 2022-23 San Jose Barracuda. But Robins struggled to be as productive in each of the following two seasons, paving the way for him to sign with Rytíři Kladno in Czechia last summer. He had a strong 2025-26 season, scoring 18 goals and 35 points in 45 games, and will hope to build on that momentum next season in the SHL.
- Former Montreal Canadiens defenseman Darren Dietz has signed a two-year contract with Sibir Novosibirsk in the KHL. The 32-year-old defenseman spent last season with Dinamo Minsk, where he played in a top-four capacity and scored 23 points in 56 games. While Dietz’s North American career lasted just four years and consisted of 13 games in the NHL and 218 in the AHL, he has been a star for more than a half-decade. Dietz was named the KHL’s best defenseman in his second season in the league, scoring 53 points in 62 games in 2018-19. Since then, he’s racked up honors including KHL all-star and two Gagarin Cup titles.