With his contract expired at New York Islanders forward, Nikolai Kulemin is seemingly going back home to Russia. The free agent will sign a contract with KHL side Metallurg Magnitogorsk.
After missing most of the final year of his contract through injury we all saw a version of this coming. We didn’t think he’d jump to the KHL, perhaps an NHL team could still give him a short-term deal to play in the league another few years.
But when you look at Kulemin’s numbers over the years, you can see a player in decline. So perhaps an NHL deal just wasn’t on the cards and Kulemin read the writing on the wall early.