The free agent carousel is still going around, but has one less player along for the ride. News broke today regarding defenceman Nikita Zaitsev and the decision that he has made to return to Russia to play. Zaitsev is an eight-year veteran of the NHL, and has now signed a four-year deal with SKA St. Petersburg of the KHL.
Nikita Zaitsev is heading home to Russia on a four-year deal with SKA St. Petersburg. He played eight seasons in the NHL with Chicago, Ottawa and Toronto.
— Chris Johnston (@reporterchris) July 4, 2024
Nikita Zaitsev Deal Signed By SKA St. Petersburg
Zaitsev has played for the Ottawa Senators, Toronto Maple Leafs and Chicago Blackhawks over his time in the NHL. The 32-year-old posted two goals and five assists for seven points in 38 games this season. He had a Corsi for of 42.9 and a relative Corsi of -2.2. Injury problems slowed down the veteran defender in the most recent. A knee injury is what kept him out of the lineup for a good chunk of the campaign.
The Moscow native has 22 goals and 96 assists for 118 points in 482 career games. Zaitsev signed with the Maple Leafs as an undrafted free agent in early May 2016. He also played in the KHL with Sibir Novosibirsk and CSKA Moscow. The veteran blueliner was twice a KHL All-Star in 2015 and 2016.
He’s played for his native Russia at the junior and senior level. Zaitsev was part of the 2011 IIHF World Junior Championship squad. He also took a pair of bronze medals with the Russian team in 2016 and 2019.
Zaitsev Continues His Career in Russia
Zaitsev could always help out a team if he could manage to stay healthy. He hadn’t played over 65 games in a season since the 2018-19 season with the Maple Leafs. The veteran blueliner may not pour in the goals in the NHL like he did previously in the KHL. However, he is a big body at 6-foot, 2-inches and nearly 200 pounds. Hopefully he can return home to Russia for a few productive seasons to wind down his career.
Main photo by: Matt Marton-USA TODAY Sports
