Russians returning to NHL after souring on KHL
Nikita Soshnikov wanted out. It was late March and the Russian forward was leading all KHL rookies in scoring. But as he was having a breakthrough year, his team was simply breaking apart.
Financial troubles were plaguing Atlant Moscow, which had lost its main sponsor and in December was forced to sell off some of its star players. That initially led to more ice time for Soshnikov. But a few months later, the 21-year-old and nine other players were sold to a rival team in what amounted to another salary dump.
Soshnikov finally had enough. The undrafted free agent signed a three-year contract to play for the Toronto Maple Leafs. It was not long after that his former team, which had been near the top of the league in attendance, disbanded.
“Guys are coming over and I want to play in the best league in the world,” Soshnikov, speaking with the help of a translator, said when asked why he decided to leave the KHL.
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