Kale Clague Signs With KHL’s Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg
The Winnipeg Jets are losing a small piece of their defensive depth for next season. According to multiple reports, defenseman Kale Clague has signed a two-year contract with the KHL’s Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg.
The Regina, Saskatchewan native had a coming home of sorts this season, signing a one-year, two-way contract with the Jets for the 2025-26 season. Unfortunately, that didn’t translate to any playing time in the NHL, as Clague spent the entire campaign with the AHL’s Manitoba Moose.
It was a relatively productive year, scoring nine goals and 27 points in 67 games. Still, it was a far cry from the 10-goal, 39-point performance he enjoyed a year earlier with the Rochester Americans. Additionally, Clague finished with a -16 rating, which stands as his worst mark since the 2018-19 campaign.
Given his age and the length of his new contract, the 2025-26 season could very well have been Clague’s last in North America. Despite being drafted over a decade ago, the 28-year-old blue liner has only managed 94 games at the NHL level, scoring two goals and 21 points with a -22 rating.
He’s unsurprisingly performed much better in the AHL, at least offensively. Debuting in the 2018-19 season with the Ontario Reign, Clague has registered 39 goals and 165 points in 321 career AHL appearances.
In Russia, Clague should largely operate as a two-way threat, with the capacity to average a point every two games. If he performs particularly well, another NHL team may give him another opportunity, but it’s unlikely at this point.
Blackhawks To Make Roman Kantserov A Focal Piece
The Chicago Blackhawks landed an immediate lineup impact when top prospect Anton Frondell joined the club following the end of the SHL season. Frondell scored nine points in the first 12 games of his NHL career and operated at his best away from star Connor Bedard, helping to bolster the club’s top-six. While his ability to continue that performance will represent the highest potential for Chicago’s 2026-27 season, the club is also brimming with excitement over young KHL star Roman Kantserov, general manager Kyle Davidson told Scott Powers of The Athletic. Davidson said:
[Kantserov is] a major piece that we’re just really, really excited about. [We] have a lot of faith in what he’s going to do for us.
Kantserov has been a true terror for the KHL’s Magnitogorsk Metallurg since he debuted in the league at 18. Then the 2023-24 season, Kantserov’s rookie year was marked by quiet production – 15 points in 53 regular season games – until he broke out in the 2024 Gagarin Cup Playoffs. The teenager managed 13 points in 23 postseason games that year, fourth-most on the team and above NHL talents like Danila Yurov and Nikita Grebenkin, as Metallurg pushed for their first championship in eight years.
That breakout performance carried over into his age-19 season, when Kantserov finished second on the team with 38 points in 47 games. He also tied for third on the team in goals with 13. Even in a down year for Metallurg, Kantserov’s ability to bring confident and explosive offense to every shift stood out. As the club honed their offense for the 2025-26 season, so did Kantserov, who climbed to a team-leading 36 goals, and a second-ranked 64 points, in just 63 games. In total, his 117 points in 164 career games is the fourth-most ever achieved by a KHL player under the age of 22 – behind only Kirill Kaprizov, Evgeny Kuznetsov, and Vladimir Tarasenko. Kantserov ties Kaprizov for the highest points-per-game average (0.71) among the group.
That success won’t automatically make Kantserov a standout, though. He holds some disadvantage as a 5-foot-9 winger. So far, his leg speed and lightning-quick thinking with the puck has proven strong enough to keep him free from worry, but Kantserov knows the NHL will be a different challenge. He told Powers:
My teammates tell me, Roman, the NHL is a different league. Everyone’s faster, stronger. You need to think faster. I’m staying on practice for extra time and, yeah, I’m trying to shoot faster, quick shots and trying practice on this stuff… I understand it’s a different league… I understand that it’s going to be fast, so I tried to do everything quickly, even in my league.
The Blackhawks have already seen positive signs from the 21 year old. Head coach Jeff Blashill praised Kantserov’s understanding of the game and commitment to the process. He also said that Kantserov should get an early chance to fill the bumper role on Chicago’s power-play, a spot Blashill thinks the young Russian could be uniquely fit for – akin to the likes of Brayden Point and Ivan Barbashev. Blashill said that Kantserov has clearly studied what works for NHL forwards in that role and already stands out as someone capable of bringing movement, and changing angles, to the position.
Chicago’s power-play has posted the ninth-lowest success rate (19 percent) since the 2020-21 season – but 2026-27 could be the year to want a feature role on the top unit. Bedard, Frondell, and Frank Nazar will likely fill out the remaining forward positions – each boasting a clear ability to both create and finish scoring chances. Kantserov could be the final touch to Chicago’s high-powered top unit, taking some stress off of the team’s search for a defenseman who can quarterback the power-play. That company could also quickly elevate Kantserov to prominent scoring, if he manages to play quick enough to stick in the role.
Plenty of uncertainty still exists around Kantserov’s NHL future. Kapriov and Matvei Michkov (66 points in 91 career games) are the only players with Kantserov’s small frame to break into prominent NHL roles. One of them has reached the upper echelon of the league while the other – once a star prospect – is fighting to figure out exactly where he fits. The challenge of adjusting to NHL speed and physicality will be an uphill battle for Kantserov, who will face the fight while rostered on one of the team’s struggling clubs. But if he finds his stride, the young Kantserov could truly be one of the greatest X-factors of the 2026-27 season – a fact the Blackhawks seem well prepared for.
Alexander Alexeyev Receiving KHL Interest
A fresh start for defenseman Alexander Alexeyev didn’t yield the NHL opportunity he was looking for this season. As a result, it appears as if he’s looking for a different type of fresh start this summer. Rustam Sharafutdinov of TASS reports that the blueliner is receiving KHL interest. His agent, Sergey Isakov, indicated that he has spoken with several KHL clubs about Alexeyev for next season, including Salavat Yulaev, the team he played for back in 2020-21.
The 26-year-old came up in Washington’s system after they drafted him 31st overall back in 2018. However, he was never able to establish himself in the NHL with the Capitals as he only suited up in 80 games over parts of four seasons, where he had a goal and seven assists in 15 minutes of playing time per game.
Washington decided to non-tender Alexeyev last summer, likely thanks in large part to his arbitration eligibility. The blueliner quickly signed a one-year, one-way deal worth $775K with the Penguins, hoping to be in the mix for a roster spot in training camp. Instead, he passed through waivers unclaimed in training camp and aside from a brief recall in mid-March, he was exclusively in the minors with AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. Alexeyev had a dozen points in 38 games in the minors during the regular season while adding five more in 11 postseason contests.
Alexeyev is technically still eligible for restricted free agency this summer, although he remains arbitration-eligible. With that in mind, he’s likely heading for a non-tender once move. But this time, instead of waiting to see what offers might be available in July, Alexeyev appears to be eyeing an opportunity to play back home instead.
Mammoth Sign Vadim Moroz To Two-Year, Entry-Level Contract
The Utah Mammoth have signed 2023 third-round pick Vadim Moroz to a two-year, entry-level contract. Moroz recently wrapped up his fourth season with the KHL’s HC Dinamo. He was a breakout scorer for Minsk, even setting a franchise-record for scoring by a U23 player with 44 points in the 2024-25 season. Moroz’s contract will carry a $1.01375M cap hit per PuckPedia.
Moroz’s scoring dwindled to 29 points in 54 games of the 2025-26 season but his on-ice impact stayed much the same. The 23-year-old winger has earned his keep with responsible and engaged hockey all over the ice, often staying true to his spot and quick to make a play on loose pucks. He boasts the fine skating and puck-control needed to drive play all the way down the ice, while also carrying plenty of oomph in a 6-foot-2 frame.
The Belarusian will face an uphill battle moving from the KHL’s highest scoring offense into a rugged role with the Mammoth – but his success could prove an X-factor down the road. He was a versatile play-driver with scoring upside in Russia and could bring the same impact from a middle-six role if his talents carry over. First, Moroz will likely have to brave the test of the AHL – a challenge he should be well set for after scoring 109 points in 222 career KHL games.
Flyers Notes: Vladar, Michkov, Tippett, Zavragin
It’s fair to say that Daniel Vladar’s first season with the Flyers was a success. He became their undisputed number one netminder by the end of the year and helped lead them to a playoff spot that not many would have been realistically expecting, then helped take them to the second round.
When he signed with Philadelphia last summer, he only signed a two-year deal, one that pays him $3.35MM per season. Last summer, the agreement looked like it might carry some risk and now, it’s a bargain. He’ll be in line for much more on his next contract and it appears that the Flyers are ready to give it to him. Speaking with NHL.com’s Adam Kimelman at the Combine, GM Daniel Briere called getting an extension done with the 28-year-old a priority.
Vladar posted a 2.42 GAA with a .906 SV% in a career-high 52 games this season, being called on to shoulder more of the workload than expected due to Samuel Ersson’s struggles. Now, with that performance under his belt, Daily Faceoff’s Anthony DiMarco suggested last month that the organization might be comfortable extending him a five-year deal in the $6MM range. That’s still on the lower end for a starter and one more year like this one would push the price tag higher. On the other hand, after being a backup for most of his career, it would certainly be understandable if Vladar wanted to lock in a guaranteed role and raise now.
It appears another extension-eligible player won’t be receiving one this summer, however. Matvei Michkov will also be eligible to sign in July as he enters the final season of his entry-level contract. However, his sophomore campaign saw his point total dip from 63 to 51 while he was called out for not arriving at training camp with a proper fitness level. Meanwhile, he was scratched twice in the playoffs while only recording one assist in the eight games he played. Accordingly, Briere indicated that they will take a wait-and-see approach with the youngster while suggesting that Michkov seems to prefer the idea of waiting to sign instead of trying to work something out now.
The GM also shared some positive news on the injury front. Winger Owen Tippett missed the second-round series against Carolina due to an internal bleeding issue but Briere noted that everything has been cleared on that front now, setting Tippett up for a full offseason of training. The 27-year-old led the Flyers in goals this season with 28, hitting the 20-goal mark for the fourth straight year.
Meanwhile, there is some news on the prospect front. Goalie prospect Yegor Zavragin is on the move in the KHL as the league announced that the netminder has been traded from SKA St. Petersburg to Metallurg Magnitogorsk. Zavragin split the season between the KHL and VHL and was particularly strong in the latter league, posting a 1.44 GAA and a .949 SV% in 18 appearances. Briere spoke of some of Philadelphia’s goalie prospects needing more development time and that likely applies to the 20-year-old, who could benefit from a full season in the KHL as a result of this swap.
Alexandar Georgiev Terminates KHL Contract, Seeking NHL Return
Earlier this season, Alexandar Georgiev found himself in the minors with Buffalo and decided to ask for his release to sign a two-year deal in the KHL. Now, he has requested and was granted his release from KHL Spartak, per a league announcement. His agent Stanislav Romanov told Hockey News Hub (Twitter link) that Georgiev’s intention is to return to the NHL next season.
There was a time early in his NHL career when Georgiev was viewed as a high-end backup with the potential of being a starter. He ultimately received that opportunity in Colorado and while the first year in 2022-23 went well, things went downhill after that. He was eventually sent to San Jose in the 2024-25 campaign and hit the open market last summer.
But even though he had been a starter in recent years, Georgiev’s struggles ultimately resulted in him having to settle for a one-year, $850K pact with the Sabres just days before training camp started. He ultimately wound up passing through waivers in training camp and then terminated his deal after just two appearances with AHL Rochester.
Georgiev put up respectable numbers with Spartak overall, posting a 2.37 GAA with a .918 SV% in 24 appearances, numbers that were around the middle of the pack for starters. With that in mind, it’d be surprising if his chances of securing an NHL backup job are any better than they were a year ago.
This year’s UFA crop of goaltenders is headlined by veteran Sergei Bobrovsky and Stuart Skinner with the rest of the options being backups in all likelihood. Georgiev will join them now but it wouldn’t be surprising if his market winds up being like last summer’s, one that sees him having to wait for a while before accepting what’s likely to be more of a third-string role.
Morning Notes: Leach, Merkley, Gross
On Sunday, we covered reports indicating that former Boston Bruins and Seattle Kraken assistant coach Jay Leach was a strong candidate for two head coaching vacancies in the AHL: the Hartford Wolf Pack (New York Rangers) and Belleville Senators (Ottawa Senators). Yesterday, David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period reported that “all signs point” to Leach becoming head coach in Hartford, with the official announcement from the team coming soon after.
If he ends up hired by the Rangers to coach their AHL affiliate, Leach, 46, would bring instant credibility to the team’s coaching staff. Leach was previously a head coach in the AHL for the Providence Bruins from 2017-18 through 2020-21, amassing an impressive 136-77-26 record. Most crucially for the Rangers, whose player development at the pro level has come under recent scrutiny (the team moved on from director of player development Jed Ortmeyer last month), Leach has a strong track record of delivering AHL talent to the NHL level. During his time in Providence, he helped develop future NHL players such as Jeremy Lauzon, Trent Frederic, Connor Clifton, Dan Vladar, Jordan Binnington, Matt Grzelcyk, and Urho Vaakanainen.
Other notes from around the hockey world:
- 2015 first-round pick Nick Merkley has decided to leave the KHL’s Shanghai Dragons, signing a one-year contract with Dynamo Moscow. Merkley, 29, last played in North America in the 2021-22 season, a year where he got into nine NHL contests for the San Jose Sharks. Merkley has spent the last four seasons in the KHL, where he has been a productive top-six forward. He led the Dragons in scoring in 2025-26, putting up 24 goals and 45 points.
- Veteran defenseman Jordan Gross, who was formerly a solid depth defenseman in NHL organizations, has signed a two-year KHL contract with Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg. The 31-year-old blueliner is an undrafted player who leveraged a stellar NCAA career at Notre Dame into 25 NHL games across four seasons. Gross is a former Eddie Shore Award winner as the AHL’s defenseman of the year, but has been in the KHL for the past two seasons. This past year, Gross scored eight goals and 35 points in 64 regular-season games for Traktor Chelyabinsk.
Minor Transactions: 06/01/2026
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.
Devils Sign Anton Silayev
The New Jersey Devils will have one more first-round pick in their system next season. Defenseman Anton Silayev is has signed his entry-level contract following his third season in Russia’s KHL. The news was originally shared by Artur Khairullin of Russian news site Sport-Express. The 6-foot-7 defender was selected 10th-overall in the 2024 NHL Draft. He will be the last of 2024’s top 15 to sign his entry-level contract when he puts pen to paper.
Silayev has had a sure role with the KHL’s Torpedo Novgorod since the 2022-23 season, when he led the team’s junior affiliate to a junior league championship. Even in his age-17 season, Silayev’s size, smooth skating, and stick checks proved tough for opponents to beat. Those advantages earned him a full-time role in the KHL during his draft season in 2023-24. Silayev had ups-and-downs as a KHL rookie. Never the scorer, he racked up only 11 points in 63 regular season games. More glaring were the amount of times that Silayev got turned around by top-tier competition – though his aggression in board battles and ability to move the puck still warranted a top pick come draft day.
Silayev has spent the last two seasons ironing out the gaps from his age-18 season. He climbed to 12 points in 63 games of the 2024-25 season, then joined the Torpedo’s minor-league club for the postseason en route to a league championship. He contributed two points to 17 games of the 2025 VHL playoffs. Surprisingly, Silayev’s routinely-low offense turned downwards this year. He finished the 2025-26 KHL season with just three points in 61 games. Much of that diminished scoring came from Silayev’s struggles to spark the breakout in the same way he had in prior years – casting a shadow over his clear improvements on either end of the ice. Following their elimination from the Gagarin Cup playoffs, Torpedo finished Silayev’s season with a brief assignment to Russia’s junior-league playoffs, where he scored two points in four games while standing as one of only 20 defensemen age-20 or older in the junior postseason.
A down year in Russia will be followed by a major opportunity for one of New Jersey’s top prospects. Silayev will likely step into a top role in the AHL, where his big frame and puck-moving abilities could quickly stand out. He could also be a candidate to break camp with the Devils to begin the 2026-27 season – if the club finds a way to use his unique style and size in a depth role while he finds his stride. Either way, an entry-level contract will give Devils fans another player to watch close once training camp kicks off.
Minor Transactions: Berezkin, Guskov, Hasley
It turns out that Oilers prospect Maxim Berezkin won’t be coming to North America for next season after all. Instead, the KHL announced that the 24-year-old has signed a two-year extension with Lokomotiv Yaroslavl. A fifth-round pick back in 2020, Berezkin had a breakout year in 2024-25 when he posted 15 goals and 27 assists in 66 games, leading to the belief that he could come over and potentially contribute in a bottom-six role in Edmonton. Things didn’t go as well this season, however, as his output dropped to seven goals and 25 helpers in 64 contests. Edmonton will continue to hold Berezkin’s rights but at this point, it’s fair to wonder if he’ll make the jump to North America down the road.
Other minor moves with an NHL connection:
- Wild forward prospect Matvei Guskov has inked a one-year extension with HK Sochi, per a KHL announcement. The 25-year-old was a fifth-round pick in 2019 and played his junior hockey with OHL London but returned home one year later. Guskov had his best showing by far this season, collecting 32 points in 50 games but won’t be coming back to North America at this time. With no transfer agreement in place between the NHL and Russia’s federation, Minnesota will continue to hold Guskov’s rights.
- The Sharks have added some minor-league depth. Their AHL affiliate announced that they’ve signed goaltender Connor Hasley to a one-year deal. The 25-year-old wrapped up his college career with Arizona State, posting a 3.12 GAA and a .907 SV% in 24 games. He then joined ECHL Wichita for four contests to wrap up the season. San Jose liked what they saw in those outings and will now keep Hasley around for a full year.